We can’t believe how fast the year has gone….it seems only months ago that we were

getting the building settled on its new site. The clinic has been very successful with

great support from the local community and doctors. We now have three full-time

physiotherapists operating at the clinic including senior physiotherapist, Dermot

Comar. Dermot joined us in December last year having previously worked at and, more

recently owned, Whangaparaoa Physiotherapy. Dermot’s enjoying his new role as

Clinical Manager of the branch and has slotted in well with our existing staff members

Nicola Shanks, Amy Schischka (previously at Orewa) and reception staff Jody Collings

and Cherie Emm.

Whangaparaoa Clinic Turns One! • IN BRIEF:

• Whangaparaoa Clinic -

we’ve turned one!

• Get Moving!

• Lunchtime Yoga Anyone?

• Take a Load off your Back

• Try Hydrotherapy through

Kinetics

• How to Avoid the 3

O’Clock slump.

How do Free ACC Physio clinics operate?

Kinetics Orewa: 47 Riverside Rd, Orewa Ph 09 427 4477

Kinetics Whangaparaoa: 632 Whangaparaoa Rd, Stanmore Bay Ph 09 424 5632

The Whangaparaoa team -

Nicola Shanks, Jody Collings, Dermot Comar, & Amy Schischka (Cherie Emm absent)

Avoid the Evils of Constant Sitting The war against office desks is raging, with new research showing we increase our risks of

heart disease with every hour we spend glued to our chairs.

And exercise at the start or end of the day doesn't cut it - it's the movement we get

during our work day that counts.

University of Sydney public health professor Adrian Bauman presented the latest facts at

a seminar in Auckland this month. Sitting for long periods is now considered on a list that

includes smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, overall inactivity and obesity as

factors contributing to early death.

"Sitting's not as strong as the other top five contributors, but it's having a modest effect

on the risk factor for all population groups, and it's not dependent on exercise," Bauman

said.

Prolonged sitting can add an extra 300 grams to a person's weight each year while it's

possible to shed up to 2kg a year by standing and just getting out of your seat more often.

(Cont over)

Your integrated

Physical Rehabilitation clinic

for :

• Diagnosis

• Outcome -focused

Physiotherapy Treatment

• Surgical Rehabilitation

• Healthy Lifestyle Education

& Exercise Programmes

• Acupuncture Clinic

• Therapeutic Massage

• Hydrotherapy

July 2013

(Cont from page 1)

Simply standing after lunch helps muscles absorb energy and reduces blood sugar and choles-

terol by 25 per cent compared with sitting down straight away, Bauman said.

Kiwi workers sit for an average seven hours per work day, putting us in the middle of the road

for developed countries next to Australia. We're much worse than Portugal, where people sit

for half that, but at least we're not as bad as Saudi Arabia or Japan where the average time to

sit is for 11 hours.

Retailers, nurses and others who are on their feet all day are likely to be in much better shape

than a deskbound business person, Bauman said.

For sitters, moderate exercise at the end of the day "is not enough", Bauman says. It's better

if you can walk to and from work, walk at lunch time, walk your dog when you get home and

cycle everywhere on the weekends. But other than that, nothing beats standing.

And here's where the news gets better: you don't need to stand all day to improve your

health. "The goal is to break up sitting by trying to stand for a few minutes every hour, like

having standing meetings," Bauman said.

"Walking around meetings don't work, because it's difficult to write and you end up walking in

a circle.

"And if you stand for four hours a day you're going to get tired. But if you stand for half an

hour, three times a day, you won't notice." (Article from Stuff NZ)

Some Kinetics tips for helping increase activity:

• Invest in a Pedometer (you’ll be shocked at how few steps you take!)

• Make a plan to build up to 10,000 steps a day over a six week period

• Drink fluids regularly through the day— getting up for the drink and again to go to

the toilet!

• Move the printer to another room

• If regularly logging in to a computer programme make the password a reminder eg

“hydration”, “standnow”

• Take the stairs

• Play outdoor games with the kids after work at least 2 x week

• Hang out the washing.

• Park the car down from work—take an umbrella!

• Swap your chair for a swiss ball

• Start a vegetable garden

• Mow your own lawn

• Leave the trolley at supermarket door and carry the bags to the car

Do you struggle

with normal

exercising due to

injury, arthritis,

obesity, or pain?

Consider an assessment at

Kinetics for hydrotherapy ser-

vices. We offer customized

programmes for individuals

using the wonderfully warm

mineral pools at the Waiwera

Infinity Spa.

Victoria Hirst is a certified

aqua instructor as well as a

affiliated cardiac rehabilita-

tion instructor and can assess

and provide an effective and

gentle programme moving

from supervised to independ-

ent sessions to help bring

exercise and activity back into

your life.

If an injury or surgery has

been involved an assessment

by a physiotherapist will be

recommended prior to

embarking on a pool

programme

Kinetics Orewa: 47 Riverside Rd, Orewa Ph 09 427 4477

Kinetics Whangaparaoa: 632 Whangaparaoa Rd, Stanmore Bay Ph 09 424 5632

How about some lunchtime yoga at work!

We’ve been lucky to have local yoga instructor, Shelly Charlton, taking several of

our staff through a class every Friday lunchtime for the past 10 weeks. Everyone on

the course has found it really beneficial as a stress reliever and an opportunity to

get some exercise into the day. We supplied the room—doesn’t have to be a huge

space for 4 or 5 people - Shelley supplied the mats and the music and some good

humour! It’s an excellent “down to earth” class and Shelley can tailor it to the level

you want—for us we were all beginners who are now hooked!

If you’re interested in getting a group together call Shelly on 021 0241 4242

Avoid the 3 O’clock Slump - How to Eat for Lasting Energy! By Robert Knight NZSP

Ever wondered why you get the three o'clock slump? And why a visit to the charity snack box about this time seems to have

become an absolute necessity (that has nothing to do with supporting charity!) simply to survive the afternoon.

Obviously the late night last night doesn't help but most of the time the biggest culprit is lunch and, strangely enough, some-

times the "healthiest" lunches can be the worst; the same applies to breakfast. A salad sandwich, a pot of low fat yoghurt and a

banana would be considered by most (especially those devotees of Burger King) a super healthy lunch yet in actual fact this is

exactly what is going to leave you edging towards the charity snack box and downing yet another coffee just to get you through

to five o'clock.

The problem lies in the sugars lurking in the food you had at lunch time. "But I don't eat sugar," you claim. Are you sure? We

can all calculate how much sweetness we add to our tea and coffee or sprinkle on our cereal but are we actually aware of how

much sugar is hidden away in the other foods we consume. Take a look at that low fat pot of yoghurt for example; it actually

contains four and a half teaspoons of sugar. But don't get me wrong, sugar is not all bad, in fact it is the brain's sole source of

energy so is vital. But the body and brain

rely on a steady stream, not short bursts,

of glucose and it is the refinement and

excess that is the problem and this is

what we often unwittingly consume lead-

ing to us slumping a couple of hours later.

Digestion is your body's way of breaking

down large food molecules into smaller,

useable molecules that it can then utilise

for functions such as fuelling or repairing

the body. Carbohydrates are broken

down into glucose which is then com-

bined with oxygen and burned by the

body to generate energy and it is the rate

at which this occurs that is important.

Most modern foods are high in sugar

which is rapidly broken down causing a

sudden surge in glucose levels in the

blood stream.

Continued over page

Sitting, when compared to standing, increases pressure in the lower back by 40%. Sitting poorly increases the comparative load to 185%, almost double!

“The best chair in the world does not make up for

the worst posture. In the same way that owning a

gym membership is not the same as going.”

Graph shows spinal disc pressures with changing postures

Cont from page 3:

Now this can be OK if you are about to run a race and the body can burn off that fuel but if your afternoon consists of sitting on

your butt then there is a problem - it's the equivalent of the turbo booster in a car squirting extra petrol into the carbeurettor

when you're sitting idling at the lights; it won't take long for the car to become choked and stall.

When you eat foods high in sugar (and here is the problem as these are often hidden away- a muffin, for example, generally has

the same sugar content as a piece of cake) the glucose they contain is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream giving you a quick

"lift". Unfortunately this is short-lived as the body releases a hormone (insulin) that enables cells to pull the excess glucose out of

your system to store (as fat!) and use later.

Consequently, the brain which relies on glucose for its functioning is deprived and, bingo, the three o'clock slump. And what do

we do? More sugar (and probably coffee) and the cycle continues.

How to combat this -

Firstly, try to choose foods with a lower glycaemic index- this ensures a more gradual release of glucose into the blood stream

avoiding peaks and troughs of energy levels.

Secondly, try to balance meals and snacks by adding small amounts of protein- for example, a Snickers bar lies significantly lower

on the glycaemic index than does a Moro bar, simply due to the peanuts. That is NOT advocating eating Snickers bars!!!! But if

you usually have a piece of fruit for morning or afternoon tea, have a few almonds or similar to balance the sugar from the fruit.

Thirdly, read labels. Food products have to list ingredients in order

of quantity.

Be aware that "no added sugar" does not mean no sugar.

Pineapple juice, for example, can have "no added sugar" yet can

actually be as high as a can of soft drink.

In Summary:

• Choose foods lower on the Glycaemic Index chart.

• If you eat something higher on the chart, try to combine it with a little protein eg: combine a banana with a few almonds.

• Try not to reach for the snack box when feeling sluggish- this perpetuates the sugar craving cycle. Try getting up and mov-

ing, it'll help to wake you up.

• Read food labels. Glucose, fructose, sucrose- they're all still sugar. As is honey. If the second (or first!) ingredient is one of

these look for something else.

• If you must have a burger, have just that. Ditch the fries and shake.

• Avoid all soft-drinks. And that includes "sports" drinks such as Powerade and "energy" drinks such as 'V'.

• Drink water. Water makes up 75% of your body and 85% of your brain. Eight glasses per day is still a good bench mark,

more if you are active.

• Water dilutes digestive enzymes so try to avoid drinking with a meal or within two hours following. The best times are

first thing in the morning, last thing at night, and 10 minutes prior to eating.

Robert Knight is a senior physiotherapist with a certificate in Nutrition from Otago University.

Quality Accredited & ACC Registered Provider