"Fourways Chiropractic For the Whole Family"
* The information provided is for general information and it is recommended that you should consult a medical practitioner for a physical examination, diagnosis and formal advice before undertaking any new exercise programme ChiroClinic.co.za accepts no responsibility or liability for any damage or personal harm you may suffer resulting from making use of this content.*
You can watch the "Straighten Up" exercise programme as done by adults and children below for free.
I hope you enjoyed the video. It does explain the back exercises very well I think. Now you can download the "Straighten Up" exercise sheets in pdf format for free again. There is one available for adults and one for children courtesy of the British Chiropractic Association.
Programme Goals:
You can read more info on where the "Straighten Up" programme came from, which is being promoted around the world for "World Spine Day" and in South Africa through the chiropractors of the Chiropractic Association of South Africa.
A Short Introduction to “Straighten Up America” By Ron Kirk, Seed and Delphi Panel Facilitator.
“Straighten Up America” is a bold and innovative health promotion initiative designed to empower the American people toward better spinal health and an improved quality of life. This national program also serves as the prototype for an international health promotion initiative.
The vision driving Straighten Up America” is very simple. We envision a time when every American will take two or three minutes every day to care for their spinal health, just as they care for their dental health. The need for spinal health promotion is very great as evidenced by the many billions of dollars spent each year related to the disability of low back pain alone. Yet before the creation of Straighten Up”, there had not been a short, simple, engaging spinal exercise program specifically designed to promote the public’s spinal health.
To address this problem in the summer of 2004, a five person expert seed panel and a diversely comprised Delphi review panel of approximately 100 health care providers and fitness experts began shaping and testing a spinal exercise module known as Straighten Up America”. Current Delphi panel members include Nancy Lane and Toby King, the President and Executive Director of the United States Bone and Joint Decade research and educational initiative.
A free, public service program, “Straighten Up” is packed into three minutes of fun, engaging, easy to perform healthful activities. Equally useful as an ergonomic break, exercise warm-up or cool down, “Straighten Up” is designed to get people of all ages and ethnicity up and moving, while they improve their posture and spinal health. The program also includes a short set of healthy lifestyle recommendations congruent with the goals and objectives of Healthy People 2010, America on the Move, Steps to a Healthier US and the 5 A Day programs. Straighten Up America partners in promoting the nation’s health with the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
Though still in its infancy as a health initiative, “Straighten Up” has garnered an array of accolades from prominent health and fitness leaders. In January of 2005 Tommy Thompson, then Secretary of Health and Human Services, “commended” the individuals who developed “Straighten Up America” for their “leadership in the field of spinal health”. Lee Haney, past chairman of the Presidents Council on Physical Fitness and Sports describes the program as “awesome” with “vision and much promise”.
When we tested the program last summer, the results were very promising. After five weeks of daily practice of “Straighten Up” exercises, 83% of study participants reported that they had improved their posture. 78% reported that they had strengthened their core muscles. 80% reported that they sat and stood more uprightly and that their backs were more comfortable.
Participants in our initial study ranged from college students to individuals in their eighties. Young children also love Straighten Up” and are practising it enthusiastically. We hope that children everywhere will practice these beneficial spinal health activities. Dr. Jose Carlos Martines, the Director of the Child and Adolescent Health and Development Cluster of the World Health Organization, shares this hope and helped to shape the program as a Delphi panel member. Currently we are creating multiple language translations of “Straighten Up” for global habituation.
Straighten Up’s Flying Friends/Posture Pod has been incorporated within the United States Bone and Joint Decade’s preventive educational program for high school students. This educational program, known as “Protect Your Bones and Joints”, is designed to promote positive bone and joint health behaviours and prevent disorders such as osteoporosis, arthritis and athletic injuries.
