Hello! My name is Charlotte Junker. I am a preservice teacher and over this term I will be posting weekly exercises, stretches, and strategies to reduce back pain.
For at least three years I have experienced upper back pain, particularly in the evening after a day that was hard on my back. Certain activities will trigger the pain more than others, such as bending down to help a student at their small desk, road cycling, or sitting at a desk for long periods.
This past winter break I decided that the stretches I was trying were not enough, and that I needed to go to Physio. So far I have had two physio appointments and have learned five exercises. I will be going to a physio appointment once every second week, and doing the exercises almost everyday. I will primarily post exercises each week, but sometimes a skill I have learned. For example, this coming week I am supposed to learn how to tape my shoulder.
A lot of the information I am learning would be beneficial to anyone. For example, my Physio has me do two particular exercises every half hour when I am studying to improve posture. I will also post some exercises that are not directly related to back pain, but are good for people who sit at a desk regularly.
These exercises are geared towards the long term goal of improving my posture and reducing my back pain. What I have learned from the Physio is that my shoulders sit slightly forward in their sockets. I need to work on strengthening and stretching my back muscles to pull my shoulders back. As well as stretching out the muscles across my chest and on the front of my shoulders. To make things a little more complicated, my left shoulder is worse than my right. Looking in the mirror I can see that it sits slightly higher and further forward. This is probably from years of rowing on the same side and playing violin with my head turned to the left. The bad posture caused from my shoulders being pulled forward, is one of the reasons for my upper back pain.
During our Wednesday school visits last term I found that after helping students at their desks all day my back was killing me! I tried I pulling a chair up to the students desk so I was not hunched over, but I still found myself bending over when helping a student quickly. I think that these physio exercises could be helpful for other teachers who may experience back pain while teaching.
I am committed to doing my physio exercises five days a week, and I am hoping to see my posture start to improve by the end of the term!
Thanks for reading!
Charlotte Junker
