RoyII

The signs were not good. One wrong move in a squash game had caused severe pains at the base of my back, which were showing little signs of abating. This was the unwelcome scenario that faced me at the start of this year, and to cut a long storey fairly short, I went to see a chiropractor in my home town of New Malden. She turned out to be pretty good, and the diagnosis was that my problems resulted from compacted discs in the lower spine. The muscles surrounding these vertebrae were tense and not very supple, making them more prone to damage.

So the past few months have been spent trying to correct this and re-balance my back bones, and one of the things I have been advised to do is to change my posture. To this end I have been trying to stand up straighter, whilst keeping my neck lengthened. Simple though it may sound, it is much easier said than done, as it is very easy to lapse back into my bad slumping habits.

One bright spark (not the Chiropractor) told me to place a broom down the back of my shirt, which would effectively force me to stand up straight. Unsurprisingly, this is one peace of advice I will ignore, as it crosses that fine line between sensible, healthy activity and looking like a complete twat!