Prevention to Minimize Danger

By Leesa Ostrander

After a short break, I went back to school. One year ago I became an EMT and love the field of emergency care. Now, I am learning of the body’s anatomy and how it works (I took A&P many years ago and am taking it again). I am learning about the body’s potential for imbalance and how it negatively affects our health. The body can withstand much abuse. One thing I have learned is: emergencies can be prevented and prevention begins with full body health.

 Prevention is being aware of potential dangers.

A potential danger I have every time I sit down at my computer is a misaligned back. Our vertebrae are designed to fit together like a puzzle and encase our fragile spinal cord.

The potential danger here is hurting your back. Without sitting correctly causes stress on this alignment. Not sitting straight, at a correct level to type, not having the correct chair and your back in incorrect position causes stress on the spine and the intervertebral discs. With long periods of time in a poorly aligned situation the body begins to accommodate. This adjustment will cause for bulging discs leading to pain associated with blockage of the spinal nerves. This is a huge potential danger and can cause work disruptions - each creative book needs to be out there for us to read and disruptions stop the creative processJ. An emergency associated with back misalignment can be many visits to a doctor or chiropractor for a misaligned back and the pain that comes with this.

Another danger is with the discs between the vertebrae.

The gel-like discs in-between each vertebrae are made of cartilage. A unique characteristic of cartilage is the 80 percent water within the matrix. The large amount of water allows for movement and rebound of the tissue.

I was stunned by this number. The moving joints and discs between my vertebrae and meniscus in my knee is 80 percent water.

The potential danger here is lack of drinking enough water dehydrates these fragile areas making movement difficult. There are a number of emergencies that can occur with this imbalance.

By drinking plenty of water and having an area to work that accommodates for minimal stress on your spine will lead to less injury. Exercise is a method of prevention, also. Strengthening the muscles will allow for the body’s imbalances to be minor.

As writers and working at a desk or other sitting positions, we need to take simple steps in prevention to have less injury and more words on a page. Choose correct working environment and drink water. Drinking 72 ounces of water per day can be done by taking a drink every 15 to 20 minutes.