Category: Asthma

If you have been a heavy computer or cellphone user , you are likely familiar with various ergonomic issues , correct workstation sitting postures and all associated with it.

I’ll remind you.

This is how a typical heavy computer user looks like. It does not matter if you sit in ergonomic chair with a monitor at proper height on an “arm” stand. Even if your workplace is perfect, it isn’t after several hours of heavy use. This is what YOU look like. So that you know that a fancy sitting ball did not help him at all, here’s a picture from the back : shoulders are still slouching.

After decade or more of this , you will inevitably develop various body and skeletal problems. Starting from poor posture to “forward head” posture and other issues associated with misaligned spine and imbalance of the front and back muscles.

Notice how on the next picture, person on the left has “head forward”, flat back. What we also highlighted on this picture is the fact that his shoulders went forward, creating long back muscles and short front ones. His stomach and rib cage also collapsed, creating various muscular-skeletal problems.

If you work 8 or more hours a day like that for 10 years or more, you will inevitably develop problems that will require visits to chiropractor or various other doctors. Worst cases end up with a lower back spine surgery and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

What does all have to do with Allergies and Asthma?

Look at the pictures above. Back and shoulders collapsed forward, rib cage is pressing on your lungs and stomach muscles. As years go by, lung volume slowly decreases. The diaphragm eventually gets stuck. Abdominal muscles get weaker and won’t support vertical posture and correct spine anymore. This will send all sorts of wrong signals to your brain about the lungs.

As you keep slouching at your computer, laptop or a mobile phone, this misalignment keeps building, resulting in asthma-like symptoms.

Simple Exercises for Heavy Computer Users

It won’t be enough to remind that you have to do stretch exercises. There are numerous types available , just search the internet for “stretching for computer users”. Here we will list several very basic exercises that are going to help you tremendously and will point in the right direction to a healthier lifestyle.

Let us also mention that you won’t be able to get correct instructions from a pumped up 20 year old gym instructor, because this is not a typical problem of a 20 year old. I’d expect this to be common when you are 40+. A push-up exercises that are recommended for young adults to balance back rotator muscles with the front are only going to hurt you, because your back rotator muscles are long and your front chest muscles are short naturally from bad posture. In fact, your rotator bone is also misaligned, it is rotated , and any strong exercises and physical activities such as running before this (and your spine) are balanced can potentially lead to only more problems.

What you need is opposite stretches and exercises that will shorten and strengthen your back muscles, while making chest muscles longer. Yoga is also highly recommended, and we will show one yoga position that should help significantly.

Stretching exercises.

1. Put your arms behind you in a lock. Breath in, pull arms as far back as possible. Breath out – relax.

 

2. Wall Stand Stretch. Stand with your back to the wall. Hands apart , palms of your hands outside (picture below, Pose 1 on the left). Make sure back of your feet, buttocks, shoulders, hands and your head all are aligned against the wall. Look straight forward, not up or down. Stay like this for 30-50 seconds. Do this type of stretch throughout the day, 5-7 times, your nervous system needs to remember the right posture.

 

3. Corner Stretch, or Doorway Stretch. Very simple, you will need a corner or a doorway. Stand facing the corner, or in the doorway with your arms up at or above the shoulders line, facing forward. Start pushing forward until you feel your chest muscles stretched. Don’t use too much force. Identify your personal best arms position where you feel stretch the best. Do this daily or every time you work at the computer for a prolonged time period.

4. Arms Back Rotation – hold your arms out with palms up, parallel to the ground. Start rotating arms 360 degrees backwards, 30-40 turns. Do this at least once per day.  This will help shoulders and back rotator muscles and the bone to get back into the alignment.

5. Locust Pose / Salabhasana pose with legs down, or a variation of a Cobra pose in Yoga. In this variation, keep your legs and part of your chest down. Hold arms either on the sides or bent and pull your head and arms off the ground. For stronger effect rotate your palms until you feel strong stretch in the back between shoulder blades. Make sure stomach or lower back muscles don’t get engaged. Relax, breathe, hold for several breaths, lay down and relax.

 

Don’t expect immediate results. It will take at least a year of counter-balancing exercises to get your spine back in order and your proper posture back.

Happy and Healthy Living!

Introduction 

Have you ever come across some young guy who starts wheezing when he visits someone who has a cat? Furthermore, some of you might have seen some old people who keep coughing and face difficulty in breathing. All these situations are indicative of the fact that these people are suffering from Asthma. An estimated 7-10 % of total world population is suffering from this disease and its prevalence in Western countries is far greater as compared to that in Eastern countries. In US alone, there are more patients of asthma than in most other countries in the world. Around 4,210 people die in United States every year due to this disease. Similarly, in United Kingdom, 5 % of the population is affected with this disease. Besides, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland also have huge number of Asthma sufferers.

 

Definition

Asthma is actually a chronic disease in which a person wheezes and finds it difficult to breathe because his airways become narrower due to inflammation and thus less air is passed to and from the lungs. Such a person is called “Asthmatic”.

When you see that a person nearby is wheezing, coughing and experiencing shortness of breath, he or she is most probably having an “Asthma attack”.

 

Which form of Asthma am I suffering from?

There are many criteria which are helpful in classifying asthma into different categories. These classifications are discussed below:

• Extrinsic or atopic asthma: As its name tells, symptoms are precipitated by foreign particles (allergens).
• Intrinsic or non-atopic asthma: Symptoms not precipitated by allergens but rather by some inner mechanism or factor that is present within in the body.
• Based on severity: Asthma can also be divided on the basis of severity such as mild, moderate and severe asthma. For instance Brittle Asthma is a severe form of Asthma which is further divided into two types; Brittle Asthma I and Brittle Asthma II. Both the types are severe with Asthma II corresponding to sudden exacerbations.

 

How do I identify the condition?

Some of the common symptoms of asthma are as follows:

• Coughing
• Wheezing
• Breathlessness or difficulty in breathing
• Tightness of chest

 

Why am I suffering from Asthma?

The most important factor in determining the cause of Asthma is genetics and inheritance. A person whose parents or either of them is suffering from the disease is more likely to be Asthmatic as he grows up. Also, there are environmental factors that contribute to the chances of getting affected with the disease. Some of these factors and causes are discussed as under:

• Allergies: Children having allergies have greater chances of becoming Asthmatic.
• Respiratory Infections: Viral respiratory infections can trigger asthma.
• Medications: Some medications can bring about Asthma such as Beta Blocker Medications.
• Tobacco smoke: Tobacco smoke, like much other harm, can trigger Asthma. Not only smokers but passive smokers and babies of pregnant mothers are at stake due to tobacco smoke. Babies whose mothers smoke are more likely to develop this disease if their mothers smoked during the pregnancy.
• Stress: Recent studies suggest that stress can cause changes in immune system and thus a person gets vulnerable to the disease.
• Atopic Diseases: People who suffer from atopic diseases such as eczema and hay fever are more likely to get affected by Asthma.

 

Is Asthma curable?

Despite scientific advancements and technological era, asthma is not totally curable. However, it can be taken great care of and is a fully “controllable” disease, thanks to advancements in medical and natural science.

 

Conclusion

If you have asthma, you need not to worry much. You should go to your doctor as there are many long-term control and quick-relief medicines available in the market. Moreover, you must be able to identify those factors which worsen your asthma and simply avoid your exposure to such elements.