The lack of time is the main excuse that's given when I provide training to people or companies. There are actually two questions there: 

1. do you REALLY lack time?
2. how much time do you need to correct your posture?

Is it really just a lack of time?
It is true that we all have a busy life, myself included. But now, let's play a game and count for a day or a week how much time we spend on

There should be no competition between competent health professionals: we all have a specialty, and the best therapist is often the one who can recognize his limits and communicate them. I am a hands-off therapist: I provide causal relief, but my empowering approach will take you energy, motivation and consistency. Hence, I often intervene next to hands-on therapists, who are better able to provide quick but not necessarily long-lasting relief. 

Today, I am very pleased to announce that the Chiropractors in my local area directory offers THE POSTURE MANUAL with a 50% discount, incl. all the readers-only videos. Just check out their website and enjoy this special offer!

On 20th April 2021 at 4PM, I am invited by the NZZ FutureHealth Forum in Basel (Switzerland) to give a webinar on the 3 Rules of Posture and their application to working from home.  The conference is free and open to the public! Click here to get the link.

Abstract: Much has been said on working from home and its impact on your lower back or your neck… but one question remains: how much have you learned that will help you protect your body on the long run? In this session, Olivier Girard will tell you about a simple yet universal framework called the 3 Rules of Posture. It applies to working from home, to working from the office, to manual handling and any other daily life activity, whether at work or at home. Adults should know about it, as well as children. White collar workers as well as blue collar workers. Join us for a truly empowering session in which you’ll learn how to use and protect your body, right now as well as in the future… Be ready to look at posture and ergonomics from a brand new angle!

If you speak German, check my interview in the NZZ!

Texts on posture are often difficult to apply. To resolve this and bring you more value, I have put a lot of effort to build my YouTube channel, Olivier Girard - the Posture Guru. The topics are very diverse and aim at bringing you practical advice for your daily activities: screen work, how to buy ergonomic furniture, pain relief, posture correction exercises, and many more.

Subscribe to the channel and check out my multiple weekly videos! You can also send your questions using the comments or by mail. If your question is relevant to many, I will shoot a new video to answer!

See you there,

Olivier

The lockdown has pushed many new clients towards posture therapy. I had to scale up, and found out that "new" technologies were actually making it possible to give my clients a better service: I can now use a mobile app to coach you on a daily basis, through micro goals, videos, tips, etc.

Discover the brand new 10-Weeks Online Back Saving Program, the only online program designed to perfect your posture, quit painful evenings and preserve your spinal health.

I have always been specialized in the treatment of overuse disorders (which used to be called RSI as repetitive strain injury, CTD as cumulative trauma disorders, etc.). As I teach you to make a healthy use of your body in your daily activities, my job is to help you stop "putting oil on the fire": your pain is fueled by the misuse of your joints and muscles, 24/7 (this is what I call posture: a dynamic concept, not a static one).

Conversely, I have tended to avoid treating patients who had had an accident. In an accident, the causes are gone: therefore, symptomatic treatment will be enough. Your physiotherapist is in a much better position to help you than I am.

However, I have been called several times recently to join multidisciplinary teams to help treating complex cases. One of my latest patients had for example fallen from his roof a year ago, and still had terrible neck pain despite seeing an ergotherapist, an osteopath and a chiropractor. A month after we started the treatment, he was starting to feel better. We're now 3 months down the line and pain has virtually disappeared. 

I have many more stories like this one. All illustrate the fact that complex treatments are like a chemical reaction: if one element is missing, nothing (or not much) happens but if all are there, recovery can happen very quickly.

Therefore, if you suffer chronic pain and you feel that things are not moving the way they should, you should consider posture therapy as a complement. The potential benefits are huge, whilst the side effects are virtually none.

Homeworking ergonomics has brought a lot of media attention to Plein le Dos, my posture manual in French. This time, two of the recently published articles have been translated in English. Click on the images below to read them.

Many of you have to stay at home due to the coronavirus spreading worldwide. One of the challenges will be to protect your musculoskeletal health while working at home, where the working conditions are usually not as good as at work. You will find detailed advice and a video to DIY your ergonomic workstation and improve your posture on the free summary of my course on screen work ergonomics. 

Below are pictures of the homeworking desk that I made for my wife, inside her Ikea closet. A ruler with double-sided tape blocks the laptop from sliding. If you do not have a proper office chair, you may consider using a lumbar support on a kitchen chair with a backrest. 

Frequent breaks are also need, as shown below. The logic is the same: the smaller the screen, the younger the user, the more frequent breaks need to be. 

Last but not least, you need to remain physically active! The two exercises below will help you preserve your musculoskeletal health: practice often, but slowly and always within your comfort zone. Simple cardio activities for home include the exercise bike that you once bought (and since then left in your basement), a jump rope for a few minutes several times a day, to jog on the spot, etc.

Video consultations are available for all those who want personal advice, wherever you live: feel free to contact me. 

​Vacuuming, cleaning under furniture, carrying: these are all activities in which many of you hurt yourself at home. Imagine what it is like for those whose job it is!

To better help them, Olivier Girard is partnering in Switzerland with Batmaid, a start-up company dedicated to improving the working conditions of home-based cleaning women. On June 26, we hosted a workshop at a cocktail reception at the Batmaids of Lausanne; we repeat the exercise in Geneva on July 4th. To join us, check with Batmaid.