There can be no doubt that the human body was not designed to sit behind a desk for eight or more hours a day, never mind the amount of time most people end up spending at their desks during the busier times of year.

Eventually, pain and discomfort will have many people visiting a physiotherapist in the hope that the pain can be alleviated, but unless the root cause it addressed, the pain will inevitably keep returning.

According to Christine Gibbs of A Step Ahead Physiotherapy in Governors Square, the only real solution is to look at how someone sits at their desk and to make changes to suit each individual’s needs.

Christine has recently added a new physiotherapist, Lynn Williams, who in addition to experience with pre and post natal physiotherapy is also experienced in back biomechanics and postural awareness.

“We’re hoping to go around and do a wellness programme so we can work on prevention, because once people get in here and their neck is that sore, it takes weeks. Part of our job is to prevent those things and educate people on proper workstation setup. So Lynn will go around to businesses and give them posture assessments and workstation assessments,” says Christine.

The other area of expertise for Lynn is working with pregnant women to help alleviate some of the pain that can be caused by pregnancy.

“When you get pregnant you get lax ligaments, so all the joints get loose. Often it’s the SI joint in your lower back and your feet, so I get a lot of women with screaming plantar fasciitis,” says Christine.

Sometimes the solution can be as simple as a couple of stretching and strengthening exercises.

Lynn’s arrival will also increase ASAP’s capacity dramatically, which will allow Christine to focus on one of her areas of expertise – feet. And with so many runners in Cayman, there are plenty of athletes who need all the help they can get when it comes to correcting foot problems before these become injuries to the knees and hips.

Fix your work station:

• Sit with your buttocks and back firmly     against the back of  the chair.
• Keep your elbows at your side with your keyboard and mouse as close to your body as possible.
• Keep your head centred over your spine.
• Take a short break every 30 minutes to do some shoulder rolls and reposition your head, neck and shoulders – the longer you sit in one position, the more prone you are to assuming poor posture.

For more information, or to make an appointment, call 745-2727 or e-mail info@astepaheadphysio.com