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HR Priorities in 2024

With 2023 quickly coming to a close, People Managers are laser focused on refining their priorities for 2024. So what are those priorities and commonalities? Read on to find out.

Thumper Massagers – Product Review

Thumper Massagers are ‘at home’ massage tools, which have been created with convenience and accessibility in mind. They are handheld devices which use percussive action to work into muscles and are designed to help loosen any muscle tension and tightness being experienced. You can use Thumper Massagers to provide massage treatment on yourself or on another person. They’re great as a quick fix or a top up treatment, in between your usual physical therapy schedule.

We have selected two Thumpers from our healthcare product provider, Physique which we think will be best suited to our clients, based on your questions and your treatment requirements. Should you wish to buy either of these Thumpers, the links are below and a 10% discount is available to Body Mechanics’ clients.

We hope this review will help you make an informed decision about how and which Thumper Massagers may be of benefit to you.

Verve

Features

  • Single sphere massager using percussive action
  • Fits into the palm of your hand like a computer mouse
  • Has flexible velcro band which fits across the top of the hand
  • Variable speed control from 20 to 40 pulses per second to suit personal preference
  • 3 interchangeable massage heads let you customize your massage
  • Easy to clean; just wipe with damp cloth
  • 12 ft. (3.66m) power cord
  • Stroke: 0.20" (5.0mm).
  • Weighs 2lbs
  • £123.01 inclu. VAT

Specs

  • Made by Thumper
  • Size: 3.5″W x 7.5″L x 3.5″H (9cm x 19cm x 9cm).
  • Weight: 2 lbs. (0.9 kg).
  • FDA Class 1 approved.
  • Electrically approved UL, CSA, CE.
  • 2-year warranty.

Good For...

Working into targeted or smaller areas

Pro's

  • Affordable
  • Smaller size makes it easy to use and transportable
  • Good range of speeds and changeable spheres to allow for required intensity

Con's

  • Can only use for approx 8-10 mins before the Thumper starts to get warm, so if you have multiple areas to work on, you will have to do this in stages
  • If you have issues on the back of your body, you may need someone else to use the Thumper

Star Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 stars)

Verdict

We’d buy this! We found it a quick and effective fix to help ease any tightness in specific areas e.g. lower neck/shoulder line, lower back close to the spine, glute/hip, fronts of shins, feet and ankles, forearms.

Thumper Sport

Features

  • Dual sphere massager with wide head and long handle
  • Thumper's Sport patented drive system technology transmits energy deep into the muscle tissue
  • Variable speed control from 20 to 40 pulses per second that match your muscles' natural healing frequency
  • A "True Speed" feedback system that prevents low speed stalls
  • Interchangeable massage spheres that let you customize your massage experience
  • Long ergonomic handle makes it easy to reach all muscle groups, neck, shoulders, back, legs
  • Easy to clean, just wipe with damp cloth
  • Weighs 3lbs
  • £133.01 inclu. VAT

Specs

  • Made by Thumper
  • Size: 16" L x 6" W x 5" H (40 cm x 15 cm x 13 cm)
  • Weight: 3 lbs. (1.4 kg)
  • FDA Class 1 approved
  • Electrically approved UL, CSA, CE, ROHS
  • 230VAC(Volts) - 27W - 50Hz
  • 2-year warranty (parts & labour)

Good For...

Easing tightness and tension in bigger muscle groups

Pro's

Great for working into larger areas like the hamstrings, quads, glutes, either side of the spine and the calf muscles

Con's

  • Awkward when trying to work into the neck/shoulder line. Feel that the ergonomics of the thumper could be improved
  • Feels heavier than expected
  • Wanted the cone massage sphere option to allow for deeper, more targeted massage

Star Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3 stars)

Verdict

We have mixed feelings about this Thumper. It's easy to use on the back half of your body, due to the long handle, but we wanted more pressure and couldn’t quite achieve it. On the front half of the body, it was a different story. We think the same or better results could potentially be achieved through foam rolling, although the Thumper is a more pleasant experience.

Should you wish to buy either of these products, Body Mechanics clients can get 10% off by using the links below: 

Verve

Thumper Sport

There are other Thumper Massagers available, so please check them out for yourself

Image of a young woman sat in front of a laptop with her hands on her temples appearing to be suffering from a headache.

Headaches

Headaches are a common ailment, which will have been experienced by most people at some point. In fact they’re so common that we often don’t give them the proper attention they deserve - we may ‘pop a pill’ or ‘sleep it off’. However, there are different types of headaches and therefore different reasons as to why they occur. It’s worth looking at the factors which may trigger a headache in order to treat it correctly. We give you a summary overview here in this article.

What is a Headache?

Very simply, a headache is a pain experienced in the head, which can manifest as a dull ache, a sharp pain or pulsating/throbbing. Symptoms tend to be:

● Pain or discomfort in the head and/or face
● Tenderness of the scalp
● Pressure in the head and/or behind the eyes
● Hypersensitivity to sound, light and temperature

What can cause a headache?

● Dehydration
● Erratic eating patterns
● Food allergies or intolerances
● Stress
● Eye and/or eyesight issues
● Muscle tension and/or tightness
● Injury to the back, neck, shoulders or head
● Poor/incorrect posture
● Lack of sleep
● Illness such as flu
● Menstruation
● Hormone imbalances
● Overconsumption of alcohol or caffeine

These lists are illustrative and not exhaustive.

Different types of headaches

Tension - the most common type of headache, which feels like a tightening or a pressure around the head

Hormone - changes in hormone levels can trigger headaches and can be brought on by menstruation, contraception, pregnancy, menopause or HRT

Cluster - an intense head pain, usually experienced on one side of the head and/or face and eye. Not overly common. Tend to be experienced from middle age onwards. Come on suddenly and can last for several weeks. Can cause changes to the eye, such as redness, watering or swelling, as well as extreme agitation in a person. Cluster headaches have been linked to smoking and genetic predisposition. Seek medical advice as further investigation and stronger prescription medications will be required.

Migraine - moderate to intense head pain, often experienced alongside nausea and/or sickness, brain fog, increased sensitivity to light, sound and/or temperature. Can occur from teens onwards. Can last for hours to days. There are three different types of migraine, which include the previously mentioned symptoms and:

  • Migraine with aura - head pain accompanied by the sight of colours or flashes of light
  • Migraine without aura - head pain without colours or flashes of light
  • Aura without the headache - colours or flashes of light are seen. No experience of head pain.

Seek medical advice as further investigation and stronger prescription medications will be required.

What to do?

Drink Water - try to drink at least 2 litres per day. Ensure you drink enough water to replace any lost through exercise and perspiration, or diuretic drinks, like tea and coffee

Medication - over-the-counter (OTC) painkillers such as paracetamol, ibuprofen and aspirin. Cluster headaches and migraines will require medical guidance for medication.

Ergonomics - ensure you keep your body in neutral alignment wherever possible. Consider how your seating, standing and lying positions affect your posture - do you have the correct support for your body, particularly when sitting and sleeping? Do you work from home - does your workplace set need to be assessed?

Rest and De-stress - take some time to rest and recuperate, allowing the pain to subside

Light Exercise - stretches/yoga, walking or a massage to help alleviate any muscle tension or tightness

Avoid - any food or drink that triggers allergies or intolerances

Test - get regular eye tests

Alternative Therapies - both acupuncture and reflexology have been known to help alleviate pain and headache symptoms

Always seek medical advice prior to treatment and/or consult a pharmacist.

Useful Equipment

All of the below equipment is available from our Partner Providers, Physique at 10% discount.

Use a combination of the below to help relieve your symptoms as appropriate:

  • Cold Therapy - a cold gel or cold pack can be used on the localised area to reduce any pain
  • Heat Therapy - a heat lotion, gel or pack can be used on tight muscles around the neck, upper back and/or shoulders
  • Painkillers - over the counter medicines like ibuprofen (anti-inflammatory) and paracetamol (compound analgesic/painkiller) can help reduce pain and increase comfort in the short term and as a temporary measure. Speak with a medical professional such as a GP or Pharmacist for bespoke guidance.
  • Physical Therapy - yoga, massage, acupuncture or reflexology can help alleviate causes and/or symptoms of headaches and migraines

 

Physique Be Confident written logo in blue and red

If you have any questions or feedback about this article, please send them to enquiries@bodymechanics.co.uk

Image of four people in an office smiling and laughing whilst standing at a desk around a laptop

Who Should Oversee Health and Wellbeing in the Workplace?

Health and Wellbeing is becoming an increasingly significant issue within the workplace. Employers are placing greater emphasis and investment on supporting employees with various challenges, whether they’re mental, physical, financial or social. This is fantastic news! A frequently asked question however, is who should oversee health and wellbeing in the workplace? Whose responsibility is it?

Some believe the answer is determined by the overall purpose of your health and wellbeing programme. Was it set up to help with high levels of sickness absence? To attract and retain the best talent? Was it set up to address mental health support? Or to educate employees about better nutrition?

While there is merit in this perspective and whatever the core reason for your health and wellbeing programme, we believe consideration needs to be given to the bigger picture.

Traditionally, ‘people issues’ fell to HR. Today, organisations’ are taking a more comprehensive and blended approach to supporting their employees. Health and wellbeing means different things to different people and has many facets, requiring input from different parts of an organisation. For example, HR undoubtedly still has a role to play, but so too do Occupational Health, Facilities Management, Recruitment, Employee Benefits, the C-Suite and so on.

Health and wellbeing is better managed as a cross-organisational initiative with the relevant people and departments feeding into the development, implementation and coordination of the services being offered as a whole. This is arguably one of the main reasons we’ve seen the creation of teams and departments with broader titles like Employee Experience, People Engagement and The Future of Work - they’re focusing on an overarching organisational concept, rather than one specific business function. Health and wellbeing is a cultural workplace movement.

Such a collaborative, blended approach to health and wellbeing means that the coordination of resources and the use of metrics become key in monitoring the services provided, their uptake, the level of investment and the return on that investment. Without metrics, any health and wellbeing programme will fall flat.

Ryan Hopkins, Future of Wellbeing Lead at Deloitte stated that ‘what gets measured gets incentivised and that gets investment. Wellbeing is a science and not an art. Attach a financial value to these measurements to make the C-suite understand and engage. Health and wellbeing has to grow outside HR. It must be a cross-functional approach, an employee experience, addressing issues like wellbeing, inclusion, purpose and satisfaction for it to be effective’

Metrics can be used over time to measure specified key performance indicators, to spot trends and correlations and to further enhance health and wellbeing in the workplace.

Health and wellbeing is slowly, yet increasingly being seen as an initiative that falls to many, rather than just one department. Potentially, this means that health and wellbeing programmes will be more comprehensive and robust, with more employees using the services on offer. Draw and coordinate the resources available to you across your organisation, use metrics to benchmark, monitor and ultimately, secure investment - your employees and your organisation will thank you.

If you’d like to explore how Body Mechanics Health and Wellbeing Programmes can help your business please get in touch: enquiries@bodymechanics.co.uk

Image of a woman lay on her front with a therapist manipulating her arm.

What’s the Difference – Physiotherapy, Chiropractic and Osteopathy?

This is a question we get asked frequently at Body Mechanics, so we thought it’d be useful to give you a summary overview.

What are they?

Physiotherapists, Chiropractors and Osteopaths are all physical therapists who look to promote optimal physical health - integrity, function and movement - of the body’s soft tissues, joints and systems.

They can be used to:

  • Reduce pain and discomfort
  • Alleviate tension and tightness
  • Increase range of movement
  • Promote relaxation and better sleep
  • Improve circulation
  • Reduce oedema
  • Bring the body’s systems back into balance

A wide range of health conditions can be treated through these therapies such as back pain, sports injuries, stroke, MS, heart attack, cystic fibrosis and many more. Although their aim is ultimately the same, their approaches and priorities differ.

Physiotherapy

- takes a holistic approach to treating the body, as well as focusing on a particular issue area when appropriate. They will offer tailored education, advice, and rehab exercise schedules, as well as using manual therapy, where the Physio will use their hands to encourage better function and movement of the body.

Broadly speaking Physio’s will put soft tissue first - muscles, ligaments, fascia, and tendons - and joints second. When it comes to treating a system within the body, a more holistic approach will be adopted.

Other techniques such as dry needling, acupuncture, ultrasound, and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) can be used to work into the joints and soft tissues.

Registered Physiotherapists can be found at The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy

Osteopathy

- is considered by some, to be a blending of both physiotherapy and chiropractic, in that Osteopaths adopt a holistic, combined approach, looking at both soft tissues and joints throughout the body and not in isolation.

Osteo’s will work into both the soft tissues by way of stretching and massaging, to loosen muscles, ligaments, fascia, and tendons. Joints will be articulated and taken through their full range of motion to then enable any joint manipulations or adjustments, similar to Chiropractic, using quick controlled movements and/or pressure to realign the bones/joints.

Osteo’s will frequently offer guidance on rehab exercises and self-care treatments at home. They may often use other techniques such as dry needling, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) low level massage.

Osteopathy can sometimes feel unusual and intense, but it should never feel painful.

Registered Osteopaths can be found at The General Osteopathic Council

Chiropractic

- places its focus on the spine. Chiropractors work on the premise that the spine is the body's main structural support, neural highway, and movement enabler, so correct alignment of the vertebrae will subsequently keep the rest of the body healthy as a result.

Generally, Chiro’s will put joints before soft tissues, however, they may work into the soft tissues by way of stretching, to help ease any tension and tightness. These stretches allow Chiro’s to ‘free up’ a particular vertebrae or joint. They use spinal manipulation or adjustments to help realign the spine, which may involve quick, controlled movements and/or pressure. This can at times feel odd, but at no point should it be painful.

Registered Chiropractors can be found at The General Chiropractic Council

Body Mechanics Recommendation

We personally prefer Osteopathy as a manual therapy as we consider it to be the more comprehensive of the three. Where appropriate we advise our clients to maintain their physical health through regular exercise, osteopathy and sports massage, as this ensures general fitness, structural/skeletal alignment and healthy soft tissues. We use Osteopathy on a monthly to quarterly basis for maintenance and get massage at least once a month for wear and tear.

Please always seek medical advice before engaging in any form of treatment or rehab.

If you have any questions or feedback about this article, please send them to enquiries@bodymechanics.co.uk