Did you know our bones are constantly remodeling and rebuilding? That's right. With various factors including nutrition and hormones, one of the most influential to bone health is stress. bone remodels in response to the forces which act upon it (Wolfs Law).Often stress is seen as a bad thing but this is an example where stress is "food". Gravity alone creates a level of force on the body that helps with bone health. This is observed more clearly in astronauts who, without the impact of gravitational force, have exhibited 1-2% bone loss per MONTH compared to 1-1.5% bone loss in elderly or 2-3% in post menopausal women per YEAR. This is also why weight bearing, resistant exercises are so important for bone health as the balance of tensive and compression forces help maintain and promote bone health. What happens when this is out of balance though? Obviously if the bone "breakdown" occurs faster than the one "buildup" we will see a decrease in density. The opposite can occur also thought. If the stresses are abnormally distributed or if there is repetitive stress on a particular joint, the body senses this and starts depositing more bone to add stability to the area. This can eventually lead to bone spurs (as seen in the heel particularly with chronic plantar fasciitis) or joint degeneration in the spine or other jouints. Maintaining and optimizing body balance through alignment, posture and appropriate movement can be important considerations to promote bone health and to prevent or minimize pain and immobility that can accompany degenerative change. 

I won't dispute, ergonomics are key for any workplace. Regardless of how perfect the ergonomic set-up is however, if you assume one position for an extended period of time, it can take its toll. After an extended time sitting, gravity tends to pull us down and our pelvis will often round under (as if we are tucking our tails so-to-speak). As soon as this pelvis rounds under, our low back flattens , our upper back rounds and our head slides further forward. Go ahead, try it! This posture when repeated over and over again results in an imbalance of tight short muscles, long weak muscles and a tremendous amount of extra pressure on various parts of the spine. Want to hack this posture and avoid the mid-day slouch? Try this simple "reset". 1. HINGE forward at your hips (as opposed to rounding forward through your low back). You should feel your "sit bones" (ischial tuberosities) tip back behind you. 2. Keeping your pelvis slightly tipped forward, stack your torso back over your pelvis. If you had been slouching, you will now feel "taller" and possibly even lighter. You may notice your head is now positioned closer to your shoulders and you have a small curve in your low back. If you don't notice much change, perhaps you weren't rounding under as much as you thought!Check out the corresponding instagram post to learn 3 ways this posture can make-or-break your day!

One of the best ways to prevent back pain is to keep moving. This can mean a lot of things to a lot of people though. With an estimated 1/3 of missed work in Canada attributed to back pain, being aware of preventive measures is an important consideration. Really, any position can be potentially harmful if repeated for long periods of time. Consider how many hours a day you spend sitting- reading, driving, watching television, using computers. The cumulative damage of these repetitive postures can sometimes go under the radar until pain or other symptoms surface. Canadian Chiropractors have developed an app to inspire daily mobility, improved posture and spinal health. It is a FREE resource with videos, printable materials and only takes 3 minutes a day. The program can be performed individually or is a great warm-up/ cool-down for daily activities.Improving and maintaining good posture not only helps reduce or prevent back pain, but it will help to reduce daily joint wear and tear, improve spinal resilience and flexibility, and will help the body use less energy for daily tasks.For more information and video content, click HERE or to download the app, click HERE.