At least once a day a patient complains that their new found back or neck pain is because they “are getting old”.  Usually this person happens to be in their forties and is experiencing these symptoms for the first time. If you have been one of these people you know that my response is pretty similar time and time agaon, due to our sitting society:

This pain is less a cause of your age and more an effect of all the sitting that you do.  In NYC, most people work at office jobs, where they enter in the morning, maybe take a lunch break, and then continue sitting again through the end of their day.  Often, these long hours sitting are also done with poor ergonomic set ups.  I encourage everyone to get up at least every 20-30 minutes, a drastic change from their usual 8 hours. I also talk to them about appropriate ergonomic changes to make, and when necessary I visit their office and perform and ergonomic assessment with recommendations.

Recently one patient that I have worked with (and who now has a desk that he can raise to work while standing or sitting)  sent me this article from the NY TIMES:

Taking a Stand for Office Ergonomics

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/business/stand-up-desks-gaining-favor-in-the-workplace.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1355599688-sE31e05rriX4VM2b/Jt+9w&

Even Women cialis 5mg Who Exercise Sit Too Much

Study finds that people sit more hours a day than they sleep, raising the risk of chronic health conditions

http://consumer.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=670457

Women who exercise regularly actually spend as much time sitting online cialis down as those who don’t get much exercise, and thus may be susceptible to a greater risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity and premature death, the study revealed.

Several previous studies have shown that men and women who sit for long periods of time — even those who routinely exercise — are more likely to develop chronic health conditions. The new study objectively measured sedentary or sitting time and compared it to the amount of sustained moderate or vigorous activity that people get, rather than relying only on self-reported surveys.

Extended sleep reduces pain sensitivity

http://www.aasmnet.org/articles.aspx?id=3489

A new study suggests that extending nightly sleep in mildly sleepy, healthy adults increases daytime alertness and reduces pain sensitivity.

Read the entire article and GET MORE SLEEP!!!

Who’s the Musculoskeletal Expert? A Physician or A Physical Therapy

Professional?

http://www.putmebacktogether.com/Home/PhysicalTherapyArticles/PhysicalTherapyArticle/itemId/98/Whos-the-Musculoskeletal-ExpertYour-Physician-.aspx

A study published in the tested physical therapists, physical therapy students, physicians from a variety of specialties, medical residents and medical students on their knowledge of musculoskeletal medicine. The study showed that physical therapists with or without board certification and physical therapy students in their last year of school scored higher than medical residents and all physician specialties except orthopedic surgeons (see graph below).

Myths of Running: Forefoot, Barefoot and Otherwise

Exercise Can Help Cancer Patients, But Few Oncologists Suggest It

Numerous studies have shown the powerful effect that exercise can have on cancercare and recovery. For patients who have gone through breast or colon cancertreatment, regular exercise has been found to reduce recurrence of the disease by up to 50 percent.

But many cancer patients are reluctant to exercise, and few discuss it with their oncologists, according to a Mayo Clinic study published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management.