slash fitness - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-29T01:23:13Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/slash+fitnessHealth & Harmony: Tips for combating the effects of ‘pandemic posture’https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/health-harmony-tips-for-combating-the-effects-of-pandemic-posture2021-11-02T14:36:54.000Z2021-11-02T14:36:54.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p> </p>
<p><strong>By Joyce Reingold</strong></p>
<p>When the pandemic sent office workers home in March 2020, beds, couches and kitchen tables became makeshift workstations. Coronavirus safety supplanted ergonomic concerns. And as temporary turned to “we’re still at it,” necks, backs and shoulders started to feel the strain.<br /> Many months on, doctors, physical therapists, fitness experts and others are helping the work-from-home crowd address the accumulated aches and pains from what’s being called pandemic posture. <br /> “Stiffness in the back, neck and shoulders,” says Dr. Joanna Drowos, an osteopathic physician at the Marcus Institute of Integrative Health at FAU Medicine in Boca Raton, ticking off <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9760267270,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9760267270,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" width="105" alt="9760267270?profile=RESIZE_180x180" /></a>some of her patients’ most common issues.<br /> “I have seen some carpal tunnel, from not having your keyboard in the appropriate position and spending more time typing. I’ve seen more headaches. And even some low back soreness. I had a patient the other day tell me that when she’s working at home, she doesn’t have a chair where her feet touch the floor.” Drowos, who is also associate dean for faculty affairs at FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine and an associate professor of family medicine, offers patients osteopathic manipulative therapy, “which is designed to treat somatic dysfunction in the body, where people will have a little bit of pain usually related to just sort of being out of alignment,” she says.<br /> “People can have a lot of different reasons for having discomfort, but when you’re in a situation where your work habits have changed so much … it’s become very difficult for people to take care of themselves just because of the work environment.” <br /> A study published in the March 2021 issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine identified some of those changes. Researchers found respondents worked longer days — an average of more than 48 minutes — while based at home. They also participated in more meetings — an almost 13% increase per person since work from home began.<br /> “These intense and extended hours at the workstation without proper breaks might be directly linked to increased musculoskeletal discomfort and other negative physical health effects,” the study’s authors wrote.<br /> That’s why ergonomics tops the list when Drowos talks to patients about preventing body stress and strain, whether working from home, in the office, or a mix of the two.<br /> “The biggest thing to be mindful of is your workstation,” she says. “Make sure that when you’re seated and working, that you have an appropriate chair, your desk is at the appropriate height, you’re not hunched over, you have support for your back, and your wrists are in a comfortable position.”<br /> Look around your workstation. Does it meet these Occupational Health and Safety Administration guidelines?<br /> • Top of monitor at or just below eye level<br /> • Head and neck balanced and in line with torso<br /> • Shoulders relaxed<br /> • Elbows close to body and supported<br /> • Lower back supported<br /> • Wrists and arms in line with forearms<br /> • Adequate room for keyboard and mouse<br /> • Feet flat on the floor<br />Once you’re well-situated, remember that stopping for activity is also important.<br /> “Remember that our bodies are meant to move,” says Austin Brock, a certified fitness trainer and co-owner of Slash Fitness in Delray Beach. “I recommend that my clients never sit at <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9760267865,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9760267865,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" width="104" alt="9760267865?profile=RESIZE_180x180" /></a>their desks or in front of a screen for more than 30 minutes at a time. Get up, walk around and stretch.” <br />Brock regularly addresses technology-induced body issues in his line of work.<br />“Activities that consume most of our time these days are anteriorly focused, meaning that they cause us to roll our shoulders forward and extend our neck out away from our body,” he says.<br /> “This is generally seen when we use our computer, tablet or phone, but it is also replicated when we drive and even when we eat. Mimic any of those movements right now, even without the equipment, and you’ll see what I mean.”<br /> To avoid succumbing to pandemic posture, Brock recommends a combination of strengthening exercises and stretching movements.<br /> “By doing so, the muscles in our core, our backs/shoulders and our glutes, our bodies are able to hold themselves in a more upright position. Corrective bodyweight exercises can be done almost anywhere and require little to no equipment.” <br /> Brock recommends consulting a certified fitness trainer to get the right exercise plan and minimize the risk of injury. <br /> And even when you’re stuck in front of a screen, there are simple ways to stay limber.<br /> “You can do some gentle neck rolling and neck stretches, assuming you don’t have any underlying injury. Our clinic offers chair yoga and meditation that’s all virtual,” Drowos says.<br /> “Even though it’s virtual and you have to do it on the screen, you can at least have some relaxation and move your body in a way that’s healing.”<br /> The classes are free to the public, but registration is required. You can learn more here: <a href="http://www.faumedicine.org/integrative-health/programs/index.php">www.faumedicine.org/integrative-health/programs/index.php</a>. <br /> “I think the pandemic has gone on longer than any of us imagined,” she says. “When we first went home, it was sort of like, prepare for two weeks or three weeks and we’ll be back. So, I think just the recognition that the world is different, and work looks different. … Give yourself a great workstation and then make sure that you get up.”</p>
<p><br /><em>Joyce Reingold writes about health and healthy living. Send column ideas to joyce.reingold@yahoo.com.</em></p></div>Health & Harmony: Start small, but make a plan to combat the ‘quarantine 15’https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/health-harmony-start-small-but-make-a-plan-to-combat-the-quaranti2021-03-02T21:35:54.000Z2021-03-02T21:35:54.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8622385099,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8622385099,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="8622385099?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a><em>Struggling with the pandemic has put some people’s fitness goals on hold. If you want to get back into it, start small and expand your workout over time, owners of Slash Fitness in Delray Beach advise. <strong>Photo provided</strong></em></p>
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<p><strong>By Joyce Reingold</strong></p>
<p>Last spring Margo Willis, a seasonal resident of Delray Beach, saw pandemic closures knock out favorite parts of her fitness routine. </p>
<p>First to go were the chair yoga classes she and her husband, Stuart, enjoyed several times a week at their Boca Raton gym. Swimming was out when the community pool closed. They could still walk, another activity they enjoyed together. But as the pandemic delayed their return North, they faced the challenge of muggy heat.</p>
<p>“I was not comfortable walking, but I continued to do it because I knew I had to. There was no choice,” says Willis, a retired teacher. “The other thing is, you start to realize you really have to cut down on your portions, or somewhere you have to cut down on calories, because if you’re not exercising, how are you burning calories?”</p>
<p>Maintaining healthy exercise and eating habits amid what Willis describes as “a sitting culture” has been a twin challenge of the lockdowns, shutdowns and the general stress of pandemic life. </p>
<p>In a University of Florida survey of more than 3,000 people conducted between April and June 2020, 38% said they’d added weight since the stay-at-home orders were issued in March — a phenomenon pop culture has dubbed the “quarantine 15,” give or take a few pounds. Just over 34% of respondents said they’d exercised less. </p>
<p>A year into the pandemic, signs are everywhere that people in South County are again on the move, reclaiming favorite ways of staying fit or finding new activities to keep them within their coronavirus-safety comfort zones. Walking trails are busy and gyms are open again, many offering socially distanced workouts outdoors and on Zoom.</p>
<p>But busting out of a fitness slump may certainly feel more challenging while the pandemic pulses on. If you’re feeling logy and looking for motivation to get started, Delray Beach certified personal trainer Austin Brock suggests letting a simple philosophy guide your efforts: “better every day.”</p>
<p>“Just because you don’t think you can drink a gallon of water a day doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a sip,” he says. “Something is always better than nothing.”</p>
<p>Incremental improvement is the platform on which Brock and co-founder Joe Ardagna have built Slash Fitness, their studio on Southeast Sixth Avenue in Delray Beach. People of all abilities and ages progress at their own speed, one movement at a time.</p>
<p>“Our philosophy is to focus on getting 1% better in whatever it is you’re trying to improve,” the owners say on their website.</p>
<p>“I tell people all the time, start with 10 minutes and you’ll be amazed at how a 10-minute walk can turn into a 30-, 45-, 60-minute walk,” Brock says. </p>
<p><strong>Here are some other strategies he says can help:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Make a plan:</strong> “Creating a plan is so important but within that plan, what’s in it is important, too. And a lot of it again seems like basic things, but if you don’t have the basics, or the foundation, it’s tough to add on that. <br /> “So … make sure you’re scheduling in your seven to eight hours of sleep a night, make sure you’re scheduling in your … 45 to 60 minutes of activity throughout the day. <br /> “Make sure you’re scheduling in times to eat. I think as much as we’re all glued to our computers at times now, people forget to do that.” </p>
<p><strong>Buddy up:</strong> “Getting an accountability partner is such a huge thing, too. And that doesn’t have to be a gym. It doesn’t have to be a trainer. It can be your spouse. It can be your kids. It can be a family member across the country, or it can be a neighbor. <br /> “But it’s somebody that when you are having one of those days where you’re just not feeling it, and you think, all right, I’m just going to sit this workout out, you’ve got that person on the other side of that phone, or that screen or the fence on the other side the yard, telling you, get your butt off the couch and we’re going for a walk.”</p>
<p><strong> Get going:</strong> “Just start. I tell people that all the time. Just start doing something. Our bodies were meant to move. When we’re sedentary, that’s when we get inside of our own heads. I don’t feel good. I’m tired. I’m sluggish today. Oh, the weather’s not perfect. You know, I don’t have my cool new shoes yet. Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter. Just start doing something. And the easiest thing you can do is open up your front door and walk. And once you start doing that, you can build on that.” </p>
<p>The Willises have resumed all their favorite activities, but Margo says she learned during the lockdown how helpful doing activities in “small chunks” can be. She and her husband walk four laps around the shaded Cypress Swamp Boardwalk at the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge to notch a mile.<br /> “Just take what you have and expand on it,” she says.</p>
<p>Or as Brock puts it: “If you can be a little bit better day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month, by the end of a year’s time, you’ll be amazed at what kind of numbers have changed in your life.”</p>
<p><em>Joyce Reingold writes about health and healthy living. Send column ideas to joyce.reingold@yahoo.com.</em></p></div>