
19 Jan January ’23 Newsletter
Living your best life in 2023! Resolutions, reducing OA pain and office desking done right.
January News
Happy new year! This is the time of year we all set our best intentions and boldest goals for the year ahead. Sticking with resolutions is more often easier said than done, but with the right resolutions combined with a plan to get there and a team to support you, it is possible to stick to those goals. So this month’s newsletter is all about proactivity, planning for success and surrounding yourself with the right people to stay on track – after all, your resolutions didn’t make themselves. Here’s to 2023 being a great one!
Classes
Speaking of being proactive, have you booked in for any of our holiday or term 1 classes yet? Spots are filling up fast so be sure to check the timetable and make those bookings.
- Holiday Classes: We’re still taking bookings for our holiday classes which are running through to the end of the month. You can book one class at a time or multiple up-front to ensure you don’t miss out on a class. Check last months newsletter for the full schedule.
- Term 1 Classes: Our term one classes will kick off at the end of month so be sure to book in if you haven’t done so already. We’ve also added new GLAD classes to our 2023 program so contact the clinic for more details to book in.
You can contact the clinic for more details and to make your bookings. Phone (02) 9438 1782 or email enquiries@stleonardsphysio.com.au
Need Help Sticking with Resolutions?
Like many of us, you might have ideas for new activities you want to try out or old activities you want to get back into this year. It’s no secret that physical activity is one of the best things you can do for your health, but the key to staying active is preventing injury. While you’re trying new things out or returning to physical activities you haven’t done in a while, it’s important to remember that what’s right for someone else isn’t necessarily right for you. Tailoring your program to your own individual strengths and weaknesses, whilst also improving technique, is essential to prevent injury.
For instance, if you’re thinking about taking up cycling, did you know that getting the wrong bike for your body type could result in a range of different injuries? Back pain, knee pain, wrist, arm, hand and neck pain… just to name a few. Just as having the right desk setup can help prevent a host of sitting related injuries (more on that later), having the right bike for your body can ensure you stay in the saddle longer. (And if cycling actually happened to be one of your resolutions, head over to our website for more information on our bike fit assessments).
With over 200 years collective physiotherapy experience, our team has the expertise to keep you active this year and to help you stick to those new year exercise resolutions.
For a friendly consultation or help tailoring your new year exercise regime, phone (02) 9438 1782 or email enquiries@stleonardsphysio.com.au
Living with Osteoarthritis
Here at St Leonards Physio, we see a lot of patients on their journey with Osteoarthritis (OA). And we want you to know that it doesn’t have to hold you back from living your best life.
The Royal Australia College of GP Guidelines for managing hip and knee OA (2018) strongly recommends exercise as the first line of treatment for all patients with hip and knee OA, regardless of age, disability or level of pain. The GLAD program is an education and exercise-based program designed specifically for OA sufferers. Our GLAD program for osteoarthritis can help you manage your condition, relieve your pain and increase your mobility.
And we talk about the GLAD program often because the results are real. Reduction in pain, reduced medication intake, increased walking speed, reduced surgery and an overall improvement in quality of life. We’ve seen great patient outcomes through the program, and we believe in its ability to improve quality of life for OA sufferers.
Contact the clinic for more details about the program or learn more on our website.
The Education Quarter
New Year – New Desk Set-up?

Happy New Year! We hope you’ve had a wonderful festive period and are excited for the New Year. If you’re anything like us, those few days (or maybe more) away from work was a bit of a circuit breaker; the time off gave us a chance to think not just about work, but about how we work. Perhaps you’re headed back to the office (or the home office) with fresh ideas and an intention to work differently. To be more efficient, to be healthier in your work habits, and to just enjoy your working days more. We can’t help with all that, but as physiotherapists, we can help you avoid the aches and pains so often associated with office life. Read on for our top tips. Of course, if you have any concerns, you can always call us for an appointment for more personalised advice.
Desk Set-Up
It’s possible to spend a lot of money on a fantastic desk (maybe a sit-stand desk with a treadmill built in… or even better a desk treadmill that magically makes your computer work faster – wow we’d all have such amazing cardiovascular health!) When you find one please call us on (02) 9438 1782 to let us know because we want one. (Even physiotherapists have paperwork.) But in the meantime, you can do many easy and cost-effective things to make your office (or even a temporary, sort of improvised home office) healthier:
- Firstly, the top of the monitor should be at eye height. It’s just too easy to adjust to the screen and slouch when it’s positioned lower. If you’re working off a laptop in a temporary office setup. (Airport lounge, hotel room, your kitchen table….) you can prop the laptop up with a stand (or a few books, a shoe box, or whatever you have to hand) to achieve this.
- Centre the monitor directly in front of your body. You don’t want to be static in a slightly twisted position for an extended period.
- Your arms should rest on the desk at a 90-degree angle as you use the keyboard and mouse. This might mean you need to raise or lower your chair a little. A good ergonomic chair (especially one with lumbar support) is ideal. In a temporary office set-up, consider adding cushions to your chair to raise you up. If pain through your hands, arms, shoulders or back has ever been a concern, then a cheap and cheerful mouse pad with built-in wrist support is worth considering. (We have nothing against expensive wrist supports of course – we just want you to know how to set things up well for yourself no matter what.)
- Your legs should tuck under the desk and your feet rest flat on the floor. So kick excess rubbish away and kick off your heeled shoes. Consider putting some books or boxes under your feet if your legs don’t reach the ground.
Keep Moving
The most perfect desk set-up in the world doesn’t get around the fact that human beings didn’t evolve to be stationary. Set a reminder in your calendar to move every twenty to forty minutes. A sitting-standing desk is great for this, but if you don’t have one you might decide to stand whenever you’re on the phone. You might choose to walk around your chair and stretch gently (using your office chair or desk as a balance point) at least once an hour or whenever a colleague makes a terrible joke (whichever happens most frequently).
And, while we know it feels impossible to prise yourself away from the grind, we also know that deep down you know you’re more efficient, effective, and creative after a break to breathe and reset. So take a quick lunch break and walk around the block, or just to a colleague’s desk for a moment of conversation rather than just eating at your desk. (If nothing else there will be fewer crumbs lurking in your keyboard – gross.)
And remember that we’re here to help with any aches or pains that creep up on you. Please call us on (02) 9438 1782 to make an appointment with one of the team at St Leonard’s Physiotherapy if you have any concerns. Don’t let small aches and pains turn into big ones.