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caption54 goodhealth. E ver noticed someone peering into your shopping trolley with interest or frowning at you as you play with your iPad while listening to music through your headphones? Then be warned – there’s a good chance they’re a health professional who’s concerned at the damage you’re inadvertently causing your health. Here, a team of experts point out the health mistakes they see people making and explain what they wish we would do instead. Most of us have a few bad health habits we’re unaware of. Beverley Hadgraft asked the experts what the common ones are and what we should do instead Try this instead! Rebecca Harwin Chiropractor What I wish you wouldn’t do... Spend so much time sitting Why Too much sitting at a desk or on a couch, especially if your posture is poor, can change the way the spine functions, shortening some ligaments, weakening muscles and increasing the risk of developing cervical disc bulges. TRY THIS INSTEAD Stand up and walk around whenever you get the chance – ideally every 20 minutes. Also, try to be aware of your posture, sit up straight and breathe deeply. Brenden Brown Podiatrist What I wish you wouldn’t do... Throw yourself into barefoot running Why It is becoming such an enormous fad that at conferences I now see lectures designed around how to treat your barefoot-running clients. There isn’t enough evidence on the benefits, and while it’s good for people with great biomechanics, they tend to be elite runners. The vast majority of barefoot runners end up with tendinopathy, plantar fasciitis and stress fractures – all the biomechanical injuries we saw in people in poor running shoes. TRY THIS INSTEAD We need to get back to marrying the right shoes with the right foot. Before you get your shoes, get your feet checked. Most people are pronators, and roll in to some degree, so I tell them

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caption55 gm0213docp55.pdf Page 55 12/12/2012, 4:03:42 PM

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caption56 Jared Slater optometRiSt What I wish you wouldn’t do... go out in tHe Sun witHout SunglaSSeS and a Hat Why Harmful rays from the sun may play a role in the development of a range of eye diseases including cataracts, eyelid cancers, degeneration of the cornea, pterygium (or surfer’s eye where there is an overgrowth of tissue from the white of the eye onto the cornea) and age-related macular degeneration. TRy ThIS INSTEAD Wear a wide-brimmed hat or cap, which will block out around 40 per cent of UV radiation and also reduce any UV that may enter above or around glasses. Choose sunglasses with good UV protection – wraparound styles with thick arms will off er additional protection. All sunglasses sold in Australia are required to conform to a standard which specifi es how much UV protection must be provided in categories from 0 to 4. You need category 2, 3 or 4 for most outdoor activities. Janette thorburn audiologiSt What I wish you wouldn’t do... tuRn tHe Volume up too HigH wHen you’Re liStening to muSiC on youR HeadpHoneS Why If I can hear your music when I’m arm’s length away, I know that by the time you hit your 50s and 60s, you’ll be suff ering the hearing issues of someone 20 years older. That’s because you’re directing the sound straight into the inner ear, which has these little hair cells like seaweed waving about in fl uid. That fl uid is moved by sound and if you blast it with a really loud sound, it turns into a rough sea which can fl atten and tear the hair cells apart. Do that over and over and your hair cells will be permanently shredded and, that’s it, you’ve lost your hearing. You can’t grow it back. TRy ThIS INSTEAD Turn the volume down so no-one else but you can hear it and limit the number of hours you listen to music through headphones. You might think that wearing headphones all day at work is fi ne but, if it’s a bit loud, yo

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caption57 Karen finnin pHySiotHeRapiSt What I wish you wouldn’t do... Spend HouRS witH youR Head Bent oVeR youR laptop, SmaRtpHone oR taBlet Why The joints, discs, nerves and ligaments in our neck are happiest when our head is straight and sitting on top of our shoulders in line with our body. When our head tips forward, it puts stress on these soft tissues, particularly the disc at the base of the neck. Spending too much time hunched over gadgets can result in the disc tearing or bulging and can lead to permanent damage including nerve compression and weakness and numbness in the arms. TRy ThIS INSTEAD Limit gadget use and if you have to use them, improve your positioning. If you’re playing on your smartphone, lie on your back on the fl oor with no pillow. If you’re sitting on the couch using a tablet, put a pillow or two on your lap to lift the screen up. If you use a laptop a lot at a desk, invest in a screen riser and separate keyboard. It also helps to perform 10 chin tucks three to fi ve times a day to stretch overloaded neck muscles – move your chin back and slightly down so your ears are in line with your shoulders and you feel a stretch in the back of the neck. dr farah meher-Homji deRmatologiSt What I wish you wouldn’t do... Say, ‘i’Ve got Bad SKin and i JuSt HaVe to liVe witH it’. Why Acne doesn’t stop after the teen years. Many women suff er acne and the red marks and scars that result from it can have a huge impact on self-esteem. TRy ThIS INSTEAD See your GP, investigate underlying medical issues and look into cleansers and moisturisers that help treat acne. A brand that is new to the Australian market is Papulex. It has a unique combination of agents to reduce infl ammation, excess oil and bacteria and it doesn’t cause redness or dry the skin. You do need to be patient, though – it takes four to six weeks to see an improvement with any acne treatment.