The Athletic Therapy Centre

Our session at the Athletic Therapy Centre fulfilled the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities requirement that all programs provide students with Health and Safety training.

Beginning at 11am, we rotated through exercise stations and getting our personal assessments.

Those of us who had injuries and concerns had priority one-on-one appointments with a 3rd year

athletic therapy student. We were also led through different exercises to help us prevent further injuries as a result of our work in web design.

Common Signs and Symptoms to watch for include:

- tightness and ache in forearms

-tightness/knots in shoulders and neck

-tension headaches

-tingling and or numbness either intermittent or prolonged

-pain that can not be relieved with stretching

- decreased range of motion in neck, shoulders, wrists, lower back

almost all of these injuries are caused by changes in posture, and before the symptoms are too great, taking action is required.

How to Prevent Injury

Stretching is important, and it is recommended that we break for 5-10 minutes every hour we spend at a workstation.

We should vary our work tasks so that we can change body position. On our break we should try to move around, relax our muscles and change positions.

Some great stretch to do on your work break:

1. Shoulder roll: Slowly roll your shoulders backward five times in a circulra motion. Next, roll your shoulders forwards.

2. Back/side stretch: Interlace your fingers and lift your arms over your head, keeping the elbows straight. Press arms as far back as you can. To stretch your sides, slowly lean to the left and then to the right.

3. Back curl: Grasp your shin. Lift the leg off the floor. Bend forward (curling your back), and reach your nose to your knee. Repeat with the other leg.

4. Ankle and Flex Stretch: Hold one foot off the floor with your leg straight. Alternately flex your ankle (point your toes up) and extend (point your toes down). Repeat with the other leg.

My Experience

(photo by derek Woolam)

I had a wonderful time. I have since started using the stretches we learned on my breaks at home and I've realized how easy it is to ignore your body and the consequences of doing this over a long period of time. At the centre the student working with me addressed my neck and back pain (the result of bad posture and uncomfortable working positions). She worked on a knot at the base of my neck and it felt great, but I need to work on my posture and sitting position while working.

For more information about available athletic therapy sessions at the Athletic Therapy Centre, please click here.