When workstations are set up properly you will be less likely to experience problems such as headaches, eye strain, neck and back pain, as well as prevent bursitis and tendon problems linked to repetitive movements.

Set up your own optimized space with these 6 steps to design a pain-free workstation.

Monitor Height

Start by setting up your monitor such that the top of your screen is at eye level. This can be done most easily with an adjustable height desk or desk topper.

If a new desk is out of the question, you can always add a stack of books under your computer monitor.

Note, if you’re using a laptop, you will need to have an external keyboard to meet optimal ergonomic criteria.

Monitor Distance

The monitor should be between 18-36 inches from your eyes. A single monitor can be placed closer to the 18-inch mark whereas a dual monitor system would be best placed closer to the 36-inch position.

Blue light blocking glasses can also be beneficial to reduce eyestrain.

Keyboard & Mouse

The keyboard and mouse should be placed beside one another, at the same height, and close to the front edge of the workstation.

The desk or keyboard holder needs to be adjustable in order to compensate for any necessary modifications in the wrist angle.

Desktop Arrangement

The frequently used items (pens, pencils, paper, etc.) should be placed within arms reach to avoid excessive reaching, bending, and twisting.

Chair Design

While it’s common thinking to focus on a chair with extra lumbar support, I prefer the opposite.

Similar to shoes in which too much support reduces the strength development and mobility of the feet, using support from a chair silences the spinal musculature and causes abnormal pelvic tilting.

By moving towards the front of your chair and not using the backrest, you’ll require the more consistent activity of the muscle that supports the spine.

Sit up tall, keep the shoulder back and down, knees bent between 90 and 120 degrees, and position your feet on the floor or footrest.

To Sit or Stand: That is The Question?

There is potential for a standing workstation to be a better option than sitting, although some of the research gives us conflicting information depending on what parameters are being measured.

Some of the advantages are:

• Reduced Leg Weakening
• Less Hip Flexor Tightening
• More Glute Activity

The final advantage and the main reason why a standing station could be a great choice is more overall movement.

When standing, it’s more likely you’ll be inclined to move versus while working from a seated position.

How much you move, regardless of a sitting or standing desk, is a determining factor for which choice is the healthier one.

Either way, taking micro-breaks is very important.

Getting up and walking around for 10 minutes at the end of every 30-60 minutes can make a world of difference over the course of long days, weeks, and months working away in front of a computer.

Have you set up your pain-free workstation?

Dr. Steven Gall has been offering exceptional chiropractic care to infants, children and adults for over 25 years. He has spent his life learning, and improving his knowledge, skills and ability to provide his care. As a public speaker and health coach he strives to assist people in seeing and attaining a life of extraordinary health. Contact the office to join others who have started the same journey.

With the world rapidly changing, more people than ever are moving their primary work environment home. With the convenience, decreased travel times, and lowered office expenses, has also come a rise in sedentary desk activity… aka sitting!

With research suggesting we are now sitting for 12+ hours a day, up from the 10 hours of our waking time being sedentary, there’s little question that the short and long-term effects of prolonged sitting won’t be good.

Over the past decade, it’s been well documented that extended periods of sitting has negative health consequences, many of them even unexpected, much like the increased risk of developing Heart Disease and Type 2 Diabetes.

On the surface, negative consequences for spinal health seem to be obvious, but upon closer examination, the effects of prolonged sitting go far beyond simply achy shoulders and headaches.

Dr. Steven Gall has been offering exceptional chiropractic care to infants, children and adults for over 25 years. He has spent his life learning, and improving his knowledge, skills and ability to provide his care. As a public speaker and health coach he strives to assist people in seeing and attaining a life of extraordinary health. Contact the office to join others who have started the same journey.

Not so long ago, the recommendations for activity during pregnancy were basically non-existent. The standard advice was to rest as much as possible and for some pregnant women, extended bed rest was recommended if minor complications arose.

The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology released the physical activity guidelines for pregnancy in 2019 both encouraging woman to exercise and, answering the question… how should I exercise while pregnant?

Dr. Steven Gall has been offering exceptional chiropractic care to infants, children and adults for over 25 years. He has spent his life learning, and improving his knowledge, skills and ability to provide his care. As a public speaker and health coach he strives to assist people in seeing and attaining a life of extraordinary health. Contact the office to join others who have started the same journey.

There’s a fairly standard approach to lose fat…eat less and move more. To most people this means a restrictive diet and hitting the treadmill.

While nibbling on rice cakes and jogging may highlight the accepted procedure, it also doesn’t work as well (nor is it as enjoyable) as a different method – building muscle to lose fat.

Fat Loss 101

Dropping some lbs is probably on the hit list for most and it’s been that way for decades… you’d think we would have a simple, straight forward understanding of fat loss by now.

Amidst the complexity there are at least 2 things more experts can agree on:

1. You need some level of caloric deficit
2. Fat loss is a hormonal event

Calorie Deficit

In a nutshell, you’re going to need to burn more energy than you more than consume.

This is how the “obvious” strategy of dieting and cardio come to be the holy grail of fat loss.

Makes sense right? Eat less food and burn 500 calories in 60 minutes getting tortured on your favourite piece of cardio equipment.

It works until you eat that 500 calorie pint of ice cream and completely wipe out any good that came from your suffering. The cycle repeats.

Attempting to win the calorie in – calorie out battle can result in a viscous cycle of failure, one that often has negative psychological results to boot.

Your Hormones

Fat loss is a product of the right hormones telling the body to release the stored “energy” in the fat cells for its own use.

Think of the fat cells like the body’s emergency storage tanks (storing fuel in case we need it for survival in the future).

It’s a built-in survival mechanism but it’s getting all the wrong signals!
The body just wasn’t designed to excel with a constant supply of processed food, low activity levels and extensive external stressors.

The Solution

In order to address the problem in an effective and sustainable way, we need to set up an environment within the body that is conducive to releasing body fat for energy and sustaining that release over long periods of time.

This is where our changed perspective comes in…

What if instead of trying to burn calories and eat less food, we put the attention on building muscle and letting your body do most of the work?

You see, more muscle means more mitochondria, the powerhouses within your cells. More mitochondria means more fat burning, a faster metabolism, better glucose regulation…in short, building more muscle means an increase in ALL DAY, 24 HOUR caloric output.

Hands down, that beats trading calories on the treadmill for calories from your meals any day!

How To Build Muscle To Lose Fat

• Eat protein with EVERY single meal
• Avoid sugar and refined carbohydrates
• Add omega 3 fats
• Lift heavy (for you) weights
• Get adequate rest and recovery
• Get some sunlight or supplement with Vitamin D

It may be a new perspective (to you), building muscle to lose fat, but the arrows point to the need for a new culturally accepted methodology for fat loss. This is one you can routinely enjoy both in the gym AND the kitchen.

Dr. Steven Gall has been offering exceptional chiropractic care to infants, children and adults for over 25 years. He has spent his life learning, and improving his knowledge, skills and ability to provide his care. As a public speaker and health coach he strives to assist people in seeing and attaining a life of extraordinary health. Contact the office to join others who have started the same journey.