Healthy back....

I've been thinking about my back a lot lately. Actually I've been feeling it more than anything else. When I was in nursing school we had a whole class on ergonomics with emphasis on how to prevent injuries to ourselves in our line of work.

I have to say....we, as nurses, suck at ergonomics. Yes...we may have lifts and we may even try to pretend that we subscribe to the notion of a lift-friendly environment but when push comes to shove (and believe me....there's a lot of pushing and shoving....of patients) it's just bloody well faster to grab a bunch of people and give it the old heave ho.

The problem is that I've never had back pain until just recently. I think it may have something to do with the fact that we're dealing with patients that are getting heavier and heavier. And, no offense, these are the folks who tend to wind up with the most health issues and subsequently wind up in either the ED or the ICU. How fortunate for me that these are the two units I work in the most.

It scares me to think that in a few years I may be a candidate for disability. It's true, isn't it? How many nurses out there are on disability for something or another? If it isn't feet, knees or legs it's probably the back or spine. I told myself that I would be smart about it, take care of myself but I've come to realize that I'm sacrificing my own health for the sake of expediency at work.

So....what to do? Well, changing how things are done at work is like climbing Everest. For me I decided that I'd start doing little things at home to help myself and my back. So...step one. I got myself one of these:

Not that this thing is going to save my back but besides work I spend the most time sitting in front of my computer so I figure I can work on my home ergonomics.

I love this chair. It forces me to pay attention to my posture. I can't slouch or be a chair slob like I used to when I used my other chair. It can be just a chair or it can be an exercise tool as well :) I love things that serve more than one purpose. So, while I'm sitting in front of my desk I can do a bunch of stretching exercises. I can even pop out the ball and use it by itself. I've been wanting one of these chairs for the longest time and now I'm kicking myself for not getting one earlier. If you've been thinking about changing your seating situation think about getting one of these. I think you'll love it!