Advice and Exercises

Our team of practitioners are pleased to provide advice to help you adapt to being inside more often, working from home, and keeping calm by using breathing techniques to help minimise anxiety. Check back here for more resources as they come available.

Our team of osteopaths are keen to support you at this challenging time. We remain available to you for advice so please contact your osteopath directly, following the email links here: Andrew Creevy, Louise Camp, James Birkett, Mari Kortemaa

Keeping moving | morning body wake up

Set of morning mobility exercises designed to help your body wake up and get your circulation going.

[View exercises]

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Working from home

Five tips to help adapt to the potential physical impact of home working

  1. Consider your home working area. Use the chair in your home with the best support and augment with a rolled up bath towel in the small of your back, and a cushion for your upper back. Avoid crossing your knees or ankles. Keep your feet flat on the floor.

  2. Make a dedicated work space or spaces. Avoid using a laptop whilst reclining, on your knees or lying down in bed. Try to alternate between standing and sitting. Use books to lift up your laptop if required. Try using a window sill.

  3. Get a phone holder and take calls on speaker where possible. This avoids shoulder, neck and circulation issues when taking calls.

  4. Avoid eye strain, neck pain and headache by making sure you have a relaxed view of your screen at a distance of 50 to 70 cm. Your head should be slightly lowered when looking at the screen to prevent muscular tension.

  5. Regular breaks will avoid prolonged postures. Try to step away from your working space, stretch your legs, upper body, neck and arms; and go outside if possible to get some fresh air.

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Relaxing pre-bed routine

The purpose of the routine is to relax the body prior to sleep. Lie on your back, arms by your sides, palms up, eyes closed. Make each contraction strong and deliberate whilst breathing in through your nose for 6 seconds and relax (to your neutral position) whilst breathing out through your mouth for 12 seconds.

Tip: Try to shut off any media news/radio/tv and put your phone away out of sight for 30 minutes before you go to bed

  • Flex your feet upwards towards the body

  • Flex your knees, bringing your heel towards your bottom

  • Flex your hips, bringing your knees to your chest

  • Flex your wrists bringing palms towards your forearms

  • Flex your elbows, bringing your hands to your shoulders

  • Flex your shoulders, bringing your hands over your head

  • Flex your neck, bringing your chin to your chest

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Keeping calm by better breathing

Five breathing activities to help optimise breathing mechanics, regulate breath and bring about a sense of calm

  1. Improve your awareness of the body mechanics at work whilst you're breathing. A good first step is to hold a towel around your lower ribs and breathe deeply; it allows you to focus on the movement of the ribs lifting and pushing out.

  2. Efficient breathing needs good rib and mid-back movement. Controlled twisting, bending and stretching with a deep inhalation at the end of the movement can work wonders.

  3. Body visualisation techniques are an innovative way of achieving good flexibility and freedom of movement in your thoracic spine. We like imagining spotlights attached to your spine behind your breast bone and rib cage. Move the beams of light up and down

  4. Movement is health and this also applies to your organs! Collapsed posture common with prolonged hours at a desk encourages restrictions. Creating space and allowing movement of the organs is important. Sit tall with relaxed lower back/ shoulders and breathe slowly & deeply. Your diaphragm pushes your organs down and your abdominal muscles push them up as your breathe out.

  5. Stress is intrinsically linked with breathing and of all the automatic actions of the body breathing is one which can be overridden most easily. Relaxed and effective deep breathing has potentially far reaching benefits on your thoughts, emotions and behaviour. To start sit comfortably with your hands on your thighs palms down. Start to focus in on your breath, breathing in slowly through your nose and out through your mouth. Take your time and start to think about your lungs filling, and really feel your abdomen rising and falling. Keep breathing in and out trying to make each breath a little longer until you reach a slow comfortable breathing pattern. Try for 5-10 minutes.