Part Three
After several sessions with osteopath Dr. Maria Clarke, my neck has vastly improved and I feel more energetic. So is that it – am I cured? According to Dr. Clarke, I am well on the road to healing myself, but only if I make sure that, once I leave the surgery I spend my time in the right kind of environment.
We agreed that she should come to the office to have a look at the place where I spend a huge proportion of my working day – at my desk.
I found myself rather nervously tidying up my desk before Dr. Clarke arrived, squared up my in-trays and stacked all the business cards and bits of paper that float in my ‘could be useful’ pile into order. In fact, Dr. Clarke was interested in much more than whether I am efficient at processing paper.
She began by explaining that, if you sit at your desk, with your elbows on the desktop, and form your arms into an arch in front of you, the space inside the arch is your working space. Every time you reach beyond that you are putting some kind of strain on your body. So, my computer screen, keyboard and mouse, telephone and note pad were all repositioned accordingly. Why didn’t I think of that? Everything is now within easy reach, even my teacup!
After adjusting my chair, opening my window to let fresh air in and experimenting with the lighting, Dr. Clarke was satisfied that I wasn’t scrunching my neck up into awkward positions at work and countering all her hard work in the surgery.
Actually, I’m lucky in that my office has plenty of natural light, a nice view and modern furniture, but as she explained: “It’s important to remember that office furniture should fit people, not the other way around. After all, furniture doesn’t end up spending time and money being treated for a bad back if a person doesn’t fit it!”By Sarah Howe
• For more infomation, contact Dr.Clarke on [email protected] or call 282 362 274
