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Archive for February, 2010

An Introduction to Outcome Assessment(Part 3)
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Mark van Hemert, DC, DACS

In 1992, David Chapman Smith, commission counsel to the Mercy guidelines, stated: “There must be a better method of judging whether a patient’s condition or health status has changed, one that has scientific credibility, can withstand scrutiny by others, and provides strong evidence of good outcomes appropriateness and quality of care.”

The use of outcome assessments is imperative for the practicing clinician. Only by objective documentation of improvement can the attending physician prove that his care was therapeutically necessary; thereby staving off the onslaught of critical opinions by claims adjudicators of third party payers, insurance medical examinations, retroactive governmental utilization reviews and defense attorneys.

The Mercy Conference guidelines defines “outcome assessment” as a procedure or method of measuring a change in patient status over time, primarily to evaluate the effect of the treatment.

The Mercy guidelines go on to list the benefits of implementing outcome assessment into one’s practice procedures for they can:
•    document improvement to the patient, doctor, and third parties;
•    consistently evaluate the effect of care over time;
•    suggest modifications of the goals of treatment if necessary;
•    help indicate the point of maximum therapeutic improvement;
•    justify the type, dose, and duration of care.

(Mercy, chapter 10, page 8.)
This list closely mirrors the points the IME focuses on in delivering his professional opinion. The accumulation of the patient’s objective outcome assessment data during the course of care, will provide the information necessary to make these critical clinical determinations in the medical legal case.

This will individualize you opinion concerning the course of care and the length of care. Treating every patient plan as a continual living, analyzing and ongoing evaluation process.

The RAND study, “Appropriateness of Spinal Manipulation for Low-Back Pain,” makes this statement on treatment duration: “No scientific evidence in the literature supports any of the treatment durations for different indications that have been proposed.”

Using objective outcome assessment data that Mercy rates as established and necessary in your clinical examinations, will result in clinical decisions that are defensible against review professional opinion will determine the therapeutic necessity of care rendered.

My vision is to give the practicing chiropractor the knowledge and expertise to provide to every patient the care they deserve, and to provide objective evidence for every patient and their third-party carrier for reasonable and necessary care; thereby creating an analysis system that is fair to all concerned parties.

In future articles, we will discuss how to use the latest technology to gather objective data. It is important to use the guidelines as an authority not only to guide your practice, but to insist that the IME also follow the same standard.

Mark van Hemert, DC, DACS

Writers Bio

Dr. Steven R. Jones is a licensed Chiropractor in the state of California. He received his doctorate from Palmer College of Chiropractic-West in Sunnyvale, California. Dr. Jones has treated his patients for over 15 years at his own San Diego Chiropractic practice.

Dr. Jones is accepting new patients and would be happy to consult with you regarding your chiropractic needs.

Call Steve Jones at
(619) 280 0554
San Diego Chiropractic

ADJUSTABLE MOUSE PLATFORM Website to learn more about or Buy Ergo Nav

Chiropractic San Diego Website to make an appointment
Better Health Steve Jones

Chiropractic and Nutrition – Why Not?

So you’ve had a Birthday and you’re thinking about your youth that’s slipping away.  I would like to go back to 30 myself.  Of course there are some things we can do to help feel more youthful and have more energy.

Some San Diego Chiropractic offices include nutrition in their practices.  Nutrition is a logical component of helping patients regain and maintain their health.  That being said, I do have a good grasp of some of the concepts employed by chiropractors and other doctors regarding testing for nutritional deficiencies.

I have always liked measured outcomes.  Granted, in health care, many times “improvement” in a patients’ condition is driven by the patients’ symptoms. 

In other words, when the patient is out of pain, they are done with care!

This is seldom a good call, most of the time it isn’t.  Even doctors are advised against making judgments regarding delivery of care for their own illnesses.  After all, many patients are riddled with cancer or have major blockage in their hearts’ arteries yet the patient has no symptoms.  Like any of these conditions, treatment for even seemingly minor symptoms is best when delivered until the illness is completely resolved.

Our state of wellness is fleeting and worsened when we ignore signals that we are losing our health. 

We can develop mild symptoms like insomnia or anxiety or fatigue for example and attribute them to something other than some internal issue.  Often our symptoms are attributed to things such as work stress or relationship problems.  While those stresses are contributors to our symptoms, diet and ultimately nutrition take the lead role in producing symptoms of ill health.

I recently made the decision to have a hair analysis performed for mineral content.  The lab that we are now using for hair analysis uses state of the art equipment to analyze the hair sample then they generate a report containing specifics regarding their findings.  They also include recommended supplements and gobs of information regarding the consequences of their findings.

Having considered myself above the average as far as my health goes, I was shocked by the reports findings. 

This report is exactly what I need to drive my nutritional supplement schedule.  It provides a measure of where I am and what I should take to get where I need to be.

For those of you who have dismissed the findings of a hair analysis as inaccurate, advances in this procedure over the last ten years have made the results as accurate as blood tests.

So get serious about getting healthy, do yourself a favor and get a hair analysis.  It will do wonders with guiding your nutritional plan and it will keep you on track toward better health!

Writer

Dr. Jones is accepting new patients and would be happy to consult with you regarding your chiropractic needs.

Call Steve Jones at
(619) 280 0554
San Diego Chiropractic

ADJUSTABLE MOUSE PLATFORM Website to learn more about or Buy Ergo Nav

Chiropractic San Diego Website to make an appointment

Better Health Steve Jones

Get Better Sleep With Nutrition

Some time ago I did an article on my nutritional state. I am doing this for several reasons.

I want to get healthier. I had a fantastic educational experience in nutrition 18 years ago while in Chiropractic College; to my dismay implementation of my nutritional education has been absent from my San Diego chiropractic office. I take responsibility for this; as my focus has been on helping patients with specific complaints of neck pain, low back pain, headaches and the like.

Secondly, before I implement anything into my patients’ care I like to be on board with it so I can have first hand experience with its benefits. Nutrition is no different. I have been hit and miss with my diet and supplements for years – it is time for a change.

To recap my first post on this topic, I had a hair mineral analysis performed approximately one month ago. The results revealed deficiencies in many nutrient minerals. Some of the minerals that I was deficient in have the ability to cause anxiety and may affect my ability to sleep soundly. Both anxiety and insomnia are conditions that I have struggled with for years.

The lab that I used for my hair analysis not only provided a report regarding my deficiencies, but they also gave me a supplement recommendation list that I could use to restore proper mineral balance in my system.

As of the date of this post, I have been taking my supplements as advised by the lab for about ten days. At this point I feel a bit clearer headed and I have slept soundly for over 7 hours per night over the last three nights. I know that three nights good sleep is not a fix, but it is unusual. In a typical month I usually only get two or three good nights sleep.

Three good nights sleep in a row is a record for me and enough evidence to justify continuing with my nutritional supplements.

In a few weeks I will post again on this topic to let you all know how I am progressing.

Dr. Jones is accepting new patients and would be happy to consult with you regarding your chiropractic needs.

Call Steve Jones at
(619) 280 0554
San Diego Chiropractic

ADJUSTABLE MOUSE PLATFORM Website to learn more about or Buy Ergo Nav

Chiropractic San Diego Website to make an appointment
Better Health Steve Jones 

A Spoonful of Cinnamon Helps the Blood Cholesterol Go Down

In our Chiropractic office in San Diego California, we like to stress the importance of natural holistic healthcare.  Although our office is delivering chiropractic care for neck pain, back pain and the like, we also encourage our patients to use natural remedies at home as well.  There are many benefits of using cinnamon in our diets.  There are also many different forms of cinnamon.  I recently came across this article and thought I would share it with you.

A new report suggests that the equivalent of a spoonful of cinnamon a day can significantly lower blood sugar, cholesterol and lipid levels. This could be good news for people with diabetes.

Sixty people with type 2 diabetes were divided into six groups; three groups received daily doses of cinnamon (1, 3 or 6 grams, respectively), while the other groups received placebo capsules containing wheat flour. The cinnamon was consumed for 40 days, followed by a 20-day washout period. Blood glucose, triglyceride, LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol levels were all significantly lower in patients receiving cinnamon compared to those given a placebo.

While adding cinnamon to the diet won’t cure a person with diabetes, it may help protect diabetic patients from some of the worst complications that arise from the condition, such as blurred vision, heart disease and kidney failure.

Here are a variety of ways that cinnamon can be incorporated into a person’s diet, try adding it to your morning coffee or try eating oatmeal (which is very good for cholesterol) with a teaspoon of cinnamon, or making a tea out of boiling water and cinnamon stick.”

Reference:
Khan A, Safdar M, Muzaffar Ali Khan M, et al. Cinnamon improves glucose and lipids of people with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care December 2003;26, pp3215-3218.
More Soon

Doc

Call Steve Jones at his San Diego Chiropractic Clinic

(619) 280 0554

www.jonespainrelief.com

Visit our Stop RSI Economical Mouse Platform, website to learn more about or Buy Ergo Nav

Visit my San Diego Chiropractic Website to make an appointment

Read More Articles on Chiropractic, Nutrition, Preventative Health, Back pain, Neck Pain and more

Sacroiliac Joint and Hip Pain

The patients in my San Diego Chiropractic clinic often complain of “hip pain”.  When I ask them to point to the pain they almost always point to the area right next to the spine just below their beltline. 

That is the difference between a medical definition of the hip and that of a patient.  From a medical standpoint, the “hip” is the joint where the femur articulates with the acetabulum.  While I do see and provide care for those with pain in this joint, it is much less common to see pain in this “hip” joint versus the “hip” joints that most often trouble my patients.

The joint that my patients point to when they complain of hip pain is usually the sacroiliac joint.  The sacroiliac joint is formed from the ileum aka, hip bone and the sacrum which is a triangular shaped fusion of the bottom five vertebra in the spine.  The spine (and the weight of your upper body) sit directly on top of the sacroiliac joints making the stability of these joints extremely important. 

There is a network of ligaments and muscles that act to stabilize and move the sacroiliac joints.  Since the sacroiliac joints have to support some of the greatest forces that our bodies are subjected to, the muscles that act on these joints are some of the strongest in the body.  Because of the sacroiliac joints close approximation to the spine and the hip proper, the larger muscles that act on the sacroiliac joint are also movers of the hip and the lower lumbar spine.   

Since the sacroiliac joints are large joints that are supported by big muscles and strong ligaments, they are able to withstand much of the stresses that we ask of them.  However, they do break down with the constant postural stresses (sitting), poor lifting habits, falls and other injuries leading to pain and stiffness in the lower back.

Because of its size, once the sacroiliac joint is irritated, it can be difficult to treat.  Treatment always involves reducing inflammation, mobilizing the joint (restoring normal motion) then stabilizing the joint with stretches and exercises.  This is the course of care that I have followed with great results in my chiropractic office in San Diego.

Writers Bio

Dr. Steven R. Jones is a licensed Chiropractor in the state of California. He received his doctorate from Palmer College of Chiropractic-West in Sunnyvale, California. Dr. Jones has treated his patients for over 15 years at his own San Diego Chiropractic practice.

Dr. Jones is accepting new patients and would be happy to consult with you regarding your chiropractic needs.

Call Steve Jones at
(619) 280 0554
San Diego Chiropractic

ADJUSTABLE MOUSE PLATFORM Website to learn more about or Buy Ergo Nav

Chiropractic San Diego Website to make an appointment
Better Health Steve Jones

Sitting Postures and Back Pain

Sitting is a pain in the @#$%&! Or at least a pain in the back.

Our spines do not like sitting as a rule. If you remain seated in the same position for a long enough period of time you will experience some level of discomfort.

Although there are many reasons that sitting eventually causes discomfort, one of these reasons cannot be avoided. The natural center of gravity for a sitting human being is approximately 1 inch in front of the belly button. In order to park our upper bodies over our center of gravity we have to either lean forward eliminating the support of our backrests or slide our butts downward and forward assuming a slumped position. Often these postures are accompanied by crossed legs or feet and leaning our elbows on the desk or our armrests in order to promote stability of the spine.

Poor posture often results from chairs and work stations that are void of proper ergonomic considerations. Postural stress causes discomfort in the neck, back and arms resulting in fatigue and fidgeting. It comes as no surprise that these consequences of poor posture have a negative effect on your mood, your concentration and your productivity.

In the long run, poor posture can cause chronic back pain, neck pain and a host of syndromes that affect the upper extremity as a whole.

I found an excellent definition of poor posture in a book called “Backs” by Leonard Ring in which he defined poor posture as “a faulty relationship of the various parts of the body which produces increased strain on supporting structures”.

As important as proper sitting posture is for a younger person with an otherwise healthy back, it is of much greater importance to those who are older and may have some level of arthritis in their spines or a history of injury. Arthritis weakens the joints in the back and makes it more sensitive to the stresses of prolonged sitting when using good posture and much more likely to suffer consequences in situations that involve poor posture. A history of back injuries is also detrimental to the spine during sitting positions especially when it is exposed to the stress of poor posture. All of those old gymnastics, football, hockey and general horseplay falls and jolts have a cumulative effect that decreases our ability to endure stressful postures.

The bottom line is that there are many good sources on the Internet that describe the characteristics of proper sitting positions. The more stress that you can eliminate from your sitting postures the happier your back will be.

Writers Bio

Dr. Steven R. Jones is a licensed Chiropractor in the state of California. He received his doctorate from Palmer College of Chiropractic-West in Sunnyvale, California. Dr. Jones has treated his patients for over 15 years at his own San Diego Chiropractic practice.

Dr. Jones is accepting new patients and would be happy to consult with you regarding your chiropractic needs. www.JonesPainRelief.com

Call Steve Jones at his San Diego Chiropractic Clinic

(619) 280 0554

www.jonespainrelief.com

Visit our Adjustable Economical Mouse Platform website to learn more about or Buy Ergo Nav

Visit my San Diego Chiropractic Website to make an appointment

Read More Articles on Chiropractic, Nutrition, Preventative Health, Back pain, Neck Pain and more

How Does Ergonomics Affect You?

Those of you have read my blog posts both here and at www.jonespainrelief.com/blog1 know that ergonomics is the study of how we can manipulate our work environment to both improve work performance and reduce injury-causing fatigue.

Obviously, the cost of injury drives the study of ergonomics.  This is a good thing.  Most employers, especially those who run large corporations are detached from their employees – both physically and emotionally.  Were it not for the actual cost of employees’ injuries, many employers would not know or care about their workers’ ergonomic situation.

In the world of ergonomics, there are six separately identifiable variables that affect work performance and fatigue.  These six variables are:

1)    Workload
2)    Each Individuals Physiological Response to the Workload
3)    The Individuals Size & Strength Capabilities
4)    Biomechanical Variances
5)    Human Factors
6)    Work Organization

The questions that should be answered by examining the variables listed above are not limited to but include:

1)    Can You Perform a Task Once Without Injury
2)    Do You Physically Fit Your Workplace
3)    Are You Strong Enough
4)    Can You Perform the Task For Seconds to Minutes Without Fatigue or Injury
5)    Will Injury Occur if the Work is Performed Over Months or Years
6)    Do You Have the Mental Capacity to do the Work

These variables directly affect an individual’s ability to perform certain job duties with or without producing an injury.

The reason that I have decided to include this dry and academic sounding material in this blog is to help provide some very general guides that can be used to evaluate your fit for your work duties.

I have patients who were injured at work who are not good fits for their work.  They either lack the strength, the height or the endurance to effectively perform their work tasks.

If you find yourself in such a situation you should ask for or pay for an ergonomic analysis of your work environment.  Many large companies either have an ergonomics department or have access to an ergonomic specialist.

Writers Bio

Dr. Jones has treated his patients for over 15 years at his own San Diego Chiropractic practice.
Dr. Steven R. Jones is a licensed Chiropractor in the state of California. He received his doctorate from Palmer College of Chiropractic-West in Sunnyvale, California.

Dr. Jones is accepting new patients and would be happy to consult with you regarding your chiropractic needs. www.JonesPainRelief.com

Call Steve Jones at his San Diego Chiropractic Clinic

(619) 280 0554

www.jonespainrelief.com

Visit our Adjustable Economical Mouse Platform website to learn more about or Buy Ergo Nav

Visit my San Diego Chiropractic Website to make an appointment

Read More Articles on Chiropractic, Nutrition, Preventative Health, Back pain, Neck Pain and more

Safe Driving and Car Accidents In San Diego

Being a Chiropractor in San Diego, my office provides treatment for many whiplash accident victims.  One of the reasons for these accidents is wet weather driving.  Since we don’t have rain throughout the year in this desert community, when it does rain, oil and debris that has been sting on the road all year long loosens resulting in a very slick driving surface. 

Car accidents are serious!  You may not be aware that approximately 25% of all car accident victims never make a full recovery.  That could mean a lifetime of neck pain, low back pain, headaches, etc.

The best defense for accident prevention in wet weather is defensive driving.  The following paragraphs were found on the National Safety Council website and specifically target safe wet weather driving techniques.

“Losing control of your car on wet pavement is a frightening experience. You can prevent skids by driving slowly and carefully, especially on curves. Steer and brake with a light touch. When you need to stop or slow, do not brake hard or lock the wheels and risk a skid. Maintain mild pressure on the brake pedal.

If you do find yourself in a skid, remain calm, ease your foot off the gas, and carefully steer in the direction you want the front of the car to go. For cars without anti-lock brakes, avoid using your brakes. This procedure, known as “steering into the skid,” will bring the back end of your car in line with the front. If your car has ABS, brake firmly as you steer into the skid.

While skids on wet pavement may be frightening, hydroplaning is completely nerve-wracking. Hydroplaning happens when the water in front of your tires builds up faster than your car’s weight can push it out of the way. The water pressure causes your car to rise up and slide on a thin layer of water between your tires and the road. At this point, your car can be completely out of contact with the road, and you are in danger of skidding or drifting out of your lane, or even off the road.

To avoid hydroplaning, keep your tires properly inflated, maintain good tread on your tires and replace them when necessary, slow down when roads are wet, and stay away from puddles. Try to drive in the tire tracks left by the cars in front of you.

If you find yourself hydroplaning, do not brake or turn suddenly. This could throw your car into a skid. Ease your foot off the gas until the car slows and you can feel the road again. If you need to brake, do it gently with light pumping actions. If your car has anti-lock brakes, then brake normally; the car’s computer will mimic a pumping action, when necessary.

A defensive driver adjusts his or her speed to the wet road conditions in time to avoid having to use any of these measures. Reprinted with permission from the National Safety Council”

If you do happen to get into a fender bender, get to the chiropractor ASAP.  From a statistical standpoint, the best way to avoid becoming one of the 25% of Car Accident  injury patients that never fully recover is to undergo an examination with a licensed chiropractor and follow up with any recommended treatment as soon as possible.

Writers Bio

Dr. Steven R. Jones is a licensed Chiropractor in the state of California. He received his doctorate from Palmer College of Chiropractic-West in Sunnyvale, California. Dr. Jones has treated his patients for over 15 years at his own San Diego Chiropractic practice.

Dr. Jones is accepting new patients and would be happy to consult with you regarding your chiropractic needs. www.JonesPainRelief.com

Call Steve Jones at his San Diego Chiropractic Clinic

(619) 280 0554

http://jonespainrelief.com
Visit our Ergonomical Device Website to learn more about or Buy Ergo Nav

Visit my San Diego Chiropractic Website to make an appointment

Whiplash Season Is Coming

During this time of year, we start getting calls from both established and new patients regarding aches and pains related to auto accidents.  During a rainy commute, the number of auto accidents can be 4 to 5 times the number that occurs on dry roads.  My Chiropractic office in San Diego has seen hundreds of auto accident / personal injury victims over the last 15 years.
 
The most common injury resulting from auto accidents is the classic neck injury termed whiplash.

Whiplash is a traumatic neck injury that results from a sudden, forceful backward / forward snapping movement of the head.  The head is heavy compared to the size of the muscles that help turn and tilt your head.  Because of the violent acceleration and deceleration of the head, the soft tissues of the neck are overwhelmed with the stresses of the gravitational forces.  Ligament damage, pinched nerves, muscle tearing, spasm and spinal misalignment are typical results of whiplash.

Whiplash can become a nagging, intolerable condition if left untreated.  Many people make the mistake of judging the amount of injury to their body’s based on the force of impact or the amount of damage to the car.  This is poor judgment.  There are many factors that determine how a person is rear-ended by a second vehicle traveling 60 mph walks away unhurt while an apparently light tap on the bumper in a parking lot can cause enough pain to ruin your summer.   Factors including the angle of the impact, speed of the impact, occupant awareness of the impending impact, head tilt or rotation, use of seatbelts and area of impact all play a role in why some people are injured in accidents and some are not.  

Many people do believe that only high speed impacts can cause injury, however even a low-speed impact in an auto accident can cause serious whiplash injuries.  Whiplash symptoms can occur instantly but typically take days, weeks, or even months to develop.

Neck pain is by far the most common whiplash symptom, along with headaches, muscle spasms, shoulder pain, dizziness, ringing in the ears (tinnitus), arm pain and tingling, and insomnia.  The constant presence of symptoms can make whiplash a debilitating problem, even resulting in clinical depression.

A common problem associated with whiplash is the misalignment of the vertebrae in the neck.  If left untreated, these vertebrae will remain misaligned, causing chronic neck problems in the future, including loss of range of motion, chronic headaches and arthritis.

A 1998 Canadian study on whiplash examined more than 10,000 cases of neck injuries and concluded that chiropractic adjustments are one of the only proven treatments for whiplash injuries. This study also concluded that “accepted’ treatments such as neck collars, muscle relaxers, immobilization, and rest were not helpful for whiplash victims.

More Soon

Doc 

Writers Bio

Dr. Steven R. Jones is a licensed Chiropractor in the state of California. He received his doctorate from Palmer College of Chiropractic-West in Sunnyvale, California. Dr. Jones has treated his patients for over 15 years at his own San Diego Chiropractic practice.

Dr. Jones is accepting new patients and would be happy to consult with you regarding your chiropractic needs. www.JonesPainRelief.com

Call Steve Jones at his San Diego Chiropractic Clinic

(619) 280 0554

http://jonespainrelief.com
Visit our Ergonomical Device Website to learn more about or Buy Ergo Nav

Visit my San Diego Chiropractic Website to make an appointment

Being a San Diego based chiropractor, I talk to my patients all the time about the ill effects of bad posture.  Poor posture can lie at the root cause of headache problems, neck pain, back pain, etc. 

Oddly enough, whenever I think about my posture I find that I need to correct something.  I will either find my upper back slumped forward, my head extended out in front of my body, my lower back rounded forward or my shoulders rolled forward. 

Posture is difficult to maintain.  I would guess that probably half of my patients end up in my office because of some injury, old or new, that is further aggravated by postural stress.  Eliminate postural stress and many cases of neck pain and back pain would be eliminated as well. 

One of the problems that we encounter with posture is that our awareness of our posture declines as we focus on other duties.  Posture is especially difficult to maintain when we are seated in front of our computers.  Our natural response toward any type of work that we perform is to lean into it.  Getting close to our work helps us focus.  Unfortunately, getting close to our work in this way instigates poor posture and the resulting stress can cause a number of different aches and pains.

Poor posture has become habit among most of us.  The only way to improve your posture is to become aware of your bad posture and practice maintaining good posture.  Sounds simple but it takes self awareness and plenty of dedication.

Dr. Steven R. Jones is a licensed Chiropractor in the state of California. He received his doctorate from Palmer College of Chiropractic-West in Sunnyvale, California. Dr. Jones has treated his patients for over 15 years at his own San Diego Chiropractic practice.

Dr. Jones is accepting new patients and would be happy to consult with you regarding your chiropractic needs.

Call Steve Jones at
(619) 280 0554
San Diego Chiropractic

ADJUSTABLE MOUSE PLATFORM Website to learn more about or Buy Ergo Nav

Chiropractic San Diego Website to make an appointment
Better Health Steve Jones 

Sitting, Reaching and Posture

Sitting and reaching have a profound impact on your posture. Both sitting and reaching stress the spine. Reaching stresses both the spine, shoulder, elbow and wrist. Sitting and reaching contribute to poor posture that can cause neck pain, shoulder pain, back pain and wrist pain.

Sitting has a negative impact on your back for several reasons. Since our spines were made to move, it should come as no surprise that hours on end of sitting in a static position leads to injury.

In addition to a lack of movement, the sitting posture itself is structurally stressful to the spine. When we are standing upright, the lower back should have a sweeping forward curve which promotes stability by reducing pressure on the discs that separate our vertebra. Sitting reverses the normal curve in our lower backs and increases the pressure on the discs leading to an increased chance of injury.

From a postural standpoint, the sitting position can promote rounded shoulders, slumping forward of the upper back and jutting forward of the jaw. Not only are these postures unattractive but they contribute to the development of tendonitis and result in stretch weakness of the involved muscles.

There are volumes of information regarding ideal sitting postures both on the web and within other posts on this site. Sorting out your posture with the use of a good ergonomic chair will help you maintain good posture and spinal health.

Reaching at or beyond your normal arc of motion also contributes to poor posture and cumulative trauma type injuries, especially of the neck and shoulder. It is vitally important to the health of your frame to keep objects that you use on a regular basis within easy reach. Your phone, the mouse, stapler, etc., if used frequently through the course of your day, should be within your immediate reach. Objects that are used less frequently can be kept farther away, closer to the edge of your comfortable reach.

Take a good look at your work space. Making a few simple changes will help save your posture and your spinal health.