We’re dedicated to ensuring our ships’ company are comfortable, healthy and happy. One of the ways we support them in achieving this is through our quarterly health focuses. May’s health focus for our ships’ company is musculoskeletal health.
In this week’s article we focus on how certain posture positions,which we use on a daily basis, can affect our musculoskeletal health. That’s why we’ve provided some top tips to help you improve your posture and help avoid common problems.
- When sitting at an office desk...
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It’s best to:
- Support your back
- Adjust your chair
- Rest your feet on the floor or a footrest
- Place the top of your monitor at eye level
- Place your keyboard between 4 to 6 inches from the front of your desk.
- Keep your mouse close
- Re-position the monitor to avoid screen reflection
- Make objects you use a lot easier to get hold of
- Avoid telephone strain
- Take regular breaks
Avoid:
- Sitting in the same position for long periods
- Sitting cross legged – this can lead to other health conditions
- Overstretching when sitting
- When standing...
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It’s best to:
- Keep your shoulders and back aligned – try to keep your chest vertical to the ground
- Use your stomach muscles to keep your body straighter
- Slightly bend your knees to ease pressure on the hips
- Use quality shoes or insoles that offer good support to your feet
Avoid:- Standing in the same position for long periods of time
- Wearing high heels when standing for long periods
- When walking...
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It’s best to:
- Keep your stomach and buttocks in line with the rest of your body
- Keep your chin parallel to the ground
- When walking, your heel should contact the surface first then roll forward onto the toes
Avoid:- Arching your back
- Looking at your feet whilst walking
- When running...
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It’s best to:
- Keep your head up and looking forward, this will also help with your breathing
- Lean slightly forward
- Hit the ground with the midpoint of your foot and roll forward toward your toes
- Keep your arms loose and at a 90 degree angle
Avoid:- Hunching your shoulders
- Bending at the waist
- Lifting your knees too high
- When sleeping...
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It’s best to:
- Minimise spinal curves when you sleep – using pillows can help straighten your spine
- Sleep on your side and place a pillow between your legs or under your knees or back for better support
- Spend 5 minutes stretching before bed
Avoid:- Sleeping on your stomach can cause pressure on the spine around the neck area
- Sleeping with a large stack of pillows can cause your neck to bend unnaturally
As they say ‘sharing is caring’ so we want to see you demonstrating your good posture. Send a picture of you showing what you think good posture looks like to our Instagram account @carnivalukcomms using the hashtag #perfectyourposture. You could even win a £50 shopping voucher or the equivalent onboard internet package!
And don’t forget to keep any eye out on The Insider over the next couple of weeks for some more useful information on improving your musculoskeletal health.