Cal State Long Beach alumnus and physical therapist Silverton Nguyen presented a lecture on ergonomics and posture at the LifeFit Center and provided tips on how to avoid future muscle pains before they become a real problem.
Many people spend their day doing the same action or hardly moving, and as a result they neglect various muscles in their bodies and do not get enough exercise, which causes them to have body aches, Nguyen said.
“We became machines that do the same thing over and over again for a long period of time during the day, [and] we weren’t built for this,” Nguyen said. “Whether you’re sitting, driving, working on machinery, walking a lot throughout the day or just standing all day … can just take a toll on your body because we were made to move.”
James Buenaventura, director for PT@The Beach, recommends walking five minutes for every 30 minutes you will be sitting or at least 10 minutes for every hour.
“Prevention starts right now the changes you make today will evolve,” Buenaventura said.
Muscle aches and body pain are also caused by carrying excessive weight on one’s shoulder or by incorrectly lifting heavy items with your back instead of your legs.
Lugging heavy items such as backpacks around all day can cause tremendous strain on the back, which is why Nguyen suggests people only carry a maximum of 15 percent of their body weight in their backpack, and if that is still too heavy, to not carry it.
Nguyen demonstrated some simple techniques to the class such as the upper trapezius that will stretch the area between the back of the neck and the shoulders, which will prevent the body from stiffening up and becoming uncomfortable and can be done while sitting.
“So if you are unable to move, you have to the next best thing in order to prevent any of those long term problems from coming down,” Nguyen said.
He also focused on bunions and flat feet and their effect on the rest of the body. Bunions are usually caused by an excessive use of high heels. The pointed shape of the heels does not give feet the extra wiggle space they need and as a result, it pushes and shapes the toes causing the bunion.
He suggests checking your shoes first if your feet are hurting and to try on new shoes in the middle of the afternoon because feet swell up to half a size bigger during that time, “Shoes should be comfortable from day one. No break-in period”
Nguyen said he believes that the need for physical therapy could be avoided if people were more conscious about their body’s needs,
“If only people started making simple changes to start with, then they wouldn’t even need physical therapy in the first place,” he said.
Attendees were offered a free a physical posture screening at PT@TheBeach that they can redeem until the end of the semester.