Date published: 01.09.08 - not release date

PUB POSTURE

-The BCA reveals how to stand tall when you are out on the tiles -

Thursday has long been the new Friday, and with so many of us hitting the pubs before the weekend, there just aren’t enough bar stools to go round. With more and more people forced to lean on a bar or perch on a ledge, the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) warns that back pain for pub goers could be just around the corner.

Bad posture is the trigger for around 30% of back pain sufferers. Team that with the fact that 34% of the population are currently suffering from back pain – it seems a great deal of us are far from posture perfect! With this in mind, the BCA is launching Chiropractic Awareness Week on 18th April 2005. This nationwide campaign, which coincides with the BCA’s 80th anniversary, is looking at different aspects of back pain every day and Thursday examines ways that we can improve our posture to help prevent back pain.

So what is the perfect pub posture? The BCA is here to shed some light on the dos and don’ts in your drinking hole:
·Think plumb lines… The perfect posture would allow for a plumb line to hang straight down through your ear; shoulder; hip; knee right down to your ankle
·Heels for the bar? 14% women say their back pain is brought on by wearing high heels. These shoes increase the curvature in the bottom of the spine, and often all the weight is concentrated on the ball of the foot. By ‘tottering’ on high heels you could run the risk of back pain, and foot, knee and hip problems.
·Relax – even if you are meeting someone for the 1st time try to relax. If you are tense, your muscles are tense and you are more likely to cause yourself an injury and bring on a tension headache
·Don’t sit on the edge of your seat – if you are in a noisy bar, stand rather than perching on a seat and straining to hear what people are saying. If you are seated - try and sit back in your chair so that your spine is supported.
·Lay off the booze – a couple of drinks are fine, but drinking to excess will affect your coordination so you are more likely to do yourself damage, it also means that if you start to ache you won’t feel it until the morning after.

Throughout Chiropractic Awareness week, local and national events will highlight conditions that chiropractic can help with such as back and neck pain, headaches and sporting injuries. The week will also show the scope of chiropractic treatment and how it can help people of all ages from newborns to the elderly. With a different theme for every day of the week, the campaign will refer to a wide range of situations where back pain is prevalent and the BCA will advise how best to avoid back-related complaints and posture damage.

Kicking off on Monday 18 April, the week also includes various themes such as ‘Back to Work’, which will look at issues such as bad posture and slouching at computers. As well as looking at the adverse effects of sitting incorrectly at the driving seat, the week will address the potential hazards of exercising without taking due care, and the importance of good posture when out for a night on the town. Friday’s finale will focus on one of the biggest causes of back pain, which is sleeping – the aim being to inform people about the ideal, ‘back-friendly’ sleeping positions prior to their weekends of lie-ins.

To find out more information about chiropractic week please visit
www.chiropracticawarenessweek.co.uk or call 0118 950 5950
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BCA Press Enquiries: Julie Doyle/Susie Gammell/Liz Harding,
icas public relations
Tel: 020 7632 2400, Fax: 020 7240 2520
Email: jdoyle@icas.co.uk, lharding@icas.co.uk