Pilates for Hairdressers
Hairdressers suffer a huge amount of work related injuries. A recent study showed 71% of hairdressers reported pain currently. Nearly every part of the body is put at risk of injury from this job.
Standing on a hard concrete floor for long periods puts undue stress through your feet, knees, and back. Lower body problems run from achy joints to varicose veins.
While standing vary your position. Most of us favour one leg and bear the majority of the weight through one side. This is risky for your body. Using supportive shoes helps. These should lace up, have non-slip soles, and provide some cushion. If you are having feet problems talk to your health care provider about whether custom orthotics or off the shelf insoles would help.
Bending over to shampoo is a typical cause of low back pain. Spread your feet apart and bend at the knees while keeping your back straight. Another option is to put one foot forward of the other shoulder width apart and bend at the hips and knees, again keeping the back straight. The closer you stand to the client the less you have to bend over. The best solution is to eliminate the bending over altogether.
When cutting hair be sure to adjust the chair height so you are not bending over. Keeping your arms elevated in front of you for long periods creates problems in the neck, arms, and back.
Your body is not designed to maintain these static postures for long periods. The resulting muscle strain, knots in the muscles, and pinched nerves cause pain, numbness, tingling, and heaviness in the arms.
Keep your elbows close to your sides as much as possible. Stretch your neck, arms, and back between clients. Keeping yourself limber and strong is a necessity. Establish and maintain a regular stretching and strengthening program.
Be more aware of your body positions. Use the mirror to watch yourself and see unnecessary neck bending forward or to the sides. Keep your ears over your shoulders. Look with your eyes not your neck.
Tendonitis of the thumb or forearm muscles is common. One way to deal with this is to use proper scissors. Keep the blades sharp to minimize the force needed, while this may seem a small detail consider the millions of cuts you make!
Trying to keep the wrists relatively straight and avoid awkward positions that bend your wrists up or down excessively is the most important consideration.
Work related stress and working over 15 years have been shown to be related to increased injuries. So the longer you work the more injuries you get.
So body awareness is very important in this job.
Pilates exercises can help you to increase body awareness and conditions the whole body, even the ankles and feet. No muscle group is over trained or under trained.
Your entire musculature is evenly balanced and conditioned, helping you enjoy daily activities and sports with greater ease, better performance and less chance of injury.
That’s why so many professional sports teams and elite athletes as well as hairdressers now use Pilates as a critical part of their training regimen.
For further information, please do not hesitate in contact us.
info@connecthealthandfitness.com