Slipped discs and posture when travelling

Why Should I Care?

It is painful. You look awful, round-shouldered. You don't want to end up like those elderly people who are C shape. The cost of correcting it is expensive, painful, time-consuming.

What Causes It?

One cause of slipped discs is bad posture. When you are travelling you are often tired. You slump. 

At work, you crouch over a computer. At rest times, your back does not fare better. 

By day, you sit at backless benches in pubs. At night, you read in bed.

Prevention

It is important to sit up straight. I practise by standing against a wall. I choose chairs which have upright backs. I add cushions, when needed. I remember to pull the desk chair under the desk when I am sitting. I adjust the chair so that my feet are on the ground.

When I was a teenager at school, we were taught to stand and to walk around a room with a small book on our head. You hold your head up to stop the book falling.

On Zoom

I look at myself on zoom before I turn on so I can be seen. I check that my eyes are level with the lens of the camera. I sit back in the chair so my back is against the back of the chair.

Alexander Technique

Some people find the Alexander technique helpful. Each part of the body is analysed when you are sitting and standing. Alexander found that posture was affecting his speaking voice.

Advantages of Good Posture

Singing and Breath and Posture

Posture also affects singing. Correct your posture and you can take a deeper breath. If you take a deep breath, you automatically sit or stand straighter.

You can self-analyse by getting each member of the family to photograph the others when they are sitting working or doing homework. Then all analyse all the photos.

Back Support You Can Buy For Chairs

Some people travel with a back support which can be attached to any chair.

Posture Support Clothing

You can also buy back elastic clothing support. It looks like a bra without the cups. A wide X is across the back, fastened over the shoulders and in a waistband above the waist and around from the back to the front.

Some are just shoulder level. Others cover the whole back.

Cures

What are the cures? My friends were told that before an operation, they had to lose weight. A surgical operation will cost time and money.

Prevention is better than cure.

Another reason for collapse of the spine is osteoporosis, spongy bones with holes in them. I knew from more than twenty years ago that I suffered from this condition. 

Useful Websites

Medical Sources

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/slipped-disc

https://singaporespine.org/

Wiki

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Technique

Here is just one of many products to show you the idea:

For Chairs

https://www.lazada.sg/products/lumbar-back-support-spine-posture-correction-back-pillow-car-cushion-for-car-truck-seat-office-chair-i1452740408-s6720878325.html

For Wearing

https://www.lazada.sg/products/watson-magnetic-therapy-adult-back-corset-shoulder-lumbar-posture-corrector-bandage-spine-support-belt-back-support-posture-correction-

How Learning A Language Can Help You Even If You Stay At Home

Problem
I am learning Portuguese. On Duolingo and TinyCards. Only about five minutes a day. Sometimes I miss a day. When I come back I feel  like I am starting all over again. Then it gets easier and I do double the daily amount. Suddenly the stystem tells me I am 17% fluent. Hurray!

They have put a lot of effort into what seems silly but apparently is vital to making people stick with the course. Continuous rewards, smiling faces, consoling words when you make mistakes. They have done a lot of research, compared language learning systems and popular games and which features make people start, and stay.

I read that on one of their information pages. At first I just wanted to get started learning, not bother with what I thought would a lot of self-congratulatory stuff.

Later, I was puzzed, as well as full of praise for the ingenuity of the sytem. I wanted to know how they made each change and why.

As for the 17% success, at first I thought that mean I had completed 17% of 100 lessons they set you, and that I would make continuous progress. Then it seemed that the system was simply testing my speed at answering questions, and my persistence in keep up with the course every day.

I wasn't sure that I would be going on the trip needing Portuguese. Then I got confirmation of flights. Suddenly, learning the language seemed more urgent. More relevant.

Apart from the 17% message, have I made any progress? Yes, definitely. Surprisingly, the page where I did not learn any new words has proved the most useful. It was the grammar page on Duolingo. At first I missed out on the grammar page at the start of a course or a section. It depends on the size of your screen. I hope to progress from a laptop to a full size screen, like a small TV.

You might have an old screen lying around, abandoned by a family member or co worker. I decide I was getting round-shouldered, poor posture, short-necked, with back and shoulder ache from being hunched over a laptop on a kitchen table or dining table, or hotel desk or study desk. I am waiting for the dable to arrive. Meanwhile, vital things are disappearing off the bottom of the screen. I rf=frequently fail to spot the vital button. I think I have entered information. The submit or continue button is on the bottom right of my screen.

Regarding the Portuguese, I discovered the grammar information below one of the first couple of pages I had been doing that day on Portuguese. I learned about two vital things. Orange juice in Enlgish becomes juice of orange in Portuguese. The use of the de, which is superflous in English, has to be inserted.

I may be likely to forget that. However, today on Facebook I was reading comments on a post showing a video of teeny turtles, red eared sliders. I turned on translate and read the English. Then I went back to what was Portuguese. I could see all the constructions in Portuguese using the word de. I could work out whether the translation was a mistake and awkward, or simply the way that the Portuguese language is constructed.

I was immensely pleased with myself and happy. The message I have for you is that learning a language has enormous benefits, to your morale, and your understanding and feel of control, not just when you visit a foreign country, but also before, during and after, simply when looking at translations on the itnernet.

Useful Websites
https://www.duolingo.com
https://tinycards.duolingo.com/courses/C2yji/duolingo-portuguese-course

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have several more posts on Portuguese and other languages as well as placed to visit. Please share links to your favourite posts.