WEBVTT -  Health: Tech Neck 

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<v Speaker 1>Whow spoonful of sugar helps them leson go down, the medicine,

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<v Speaker 1>go down, go down. Just a spoonful of sugar helps

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<v Speaker 1>the dark a most delayedful.

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<v Speaker 2>Well on afternoons talking health, Okay, now let me ask

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<v Speaker 2>you this.

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<v Speaker 3>How many times a day do you find yourself looking

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<v Speaker 3>down at your phone or leaning forward while you work

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<v Speaker 3>on a computer or a laptop device something like that.

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<v Speaker 3>It turns out more Aussies are finding themselves with what

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<v Speaker 3>they call technic. It's kind of a catchy name as

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<v Speaker 3>it sounds a tech related neck problem, prolonged periods of

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<v Speaker 3>working or looking at screens. It has affected individuals posture,

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<v Speaker 3>and it seems it could actually have long term effects. Now,

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<v Speaker 3>the average person spends three hours and fifteen minutes or

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<v Speaker 3>more on their devices. That's daily, while others who may

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<v Speaker 3>rely on technology their work are spending up to eight

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<v Speaker 3>hours on top of that during your standard work day.

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<v Speaker 3>So it's the majority of the waking hours for some

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<v Speaker 3>people spent staring at a screen of sorts. Now, that

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<v Speaker 3>generally affects your posture, and so the health specialists are

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<v Speaker 3>waving some warning flags here because if people don't act now,

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<v Speaker 3>it could have prolonged effects down the line, so much

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<v Speaker 3>so that it's becoming the fourth leading cause of disability.

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<v Speaker 3>Just think about that now. The question therefore, is how

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<v Speaker 3>can we prevent these issues from turning from what is

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<v Speaker 3>already bad to worse. Well, let's turn to the people

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<v Speaker 3>who know a bit more about this than we do.

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<v Speaker 3>Helen Gents is the CEO of Musculo Scleito Health Australia. Obviously,

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<v Speaker 3>hence the name suggests they know a bit about this,

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<v Speaker 3>and Helen's with me on the line. Helen, thank you

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<v Speaker 3>for your time. I appreciate it.

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<v Speaker 4>Him Michael, how are you.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm all right.

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<v Speaker 3>I try to avoid the technology as much as possible,

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<v Speaker 3>but you can't. You can't wipe it away from your life.

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<v Speaker 3>It's the nature of the way we live these days.

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<v Speaker 3>So just how bad a problem is this? This technick?

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<v Speaker 2>What are you seeing?

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<v Speaker 4>Well, Michael, I think you pointed out it's the fourth

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<v Speaker 4>leading cause of disability globally at the moment. But a

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<v Speaker 4>really good point around muscular scletal disease, or as they

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<v Speaker 4>call MSDS, is that back pain is actually the leading

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<v Speaker 4>cause of disability globally, and it's also the leading cause

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<v Speaker 4>of early retirement globally. So muscular scaletal health is such

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<v Speaker 4>an important thing that is often overlooked in a lot

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<v Speaker 4>of our health literature, a lot of the health priorities

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<v Speaker 4>that our government has, and it is so very important

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<v Speaker 4>to your overall health because, as you noted, these sorts

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<v Speaker 4>of things can actually have really bad long term impacts

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<v Speaker 4>with other morbidities, and I'm talking cardiovascular diabetes. If you

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<v Speaker 4>don't have good muscular scletal health, you can actually be

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<v Speaker 4>in pretty big trouble.

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<v Speaker 2>All right, let's just unpack that then.

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<v Speaker 3>Okay, So someone spends eleven hours a day, let's say,

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<v Speaker 3>bent over a laptop or a screen, and then they

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<v Speaker 3>spend the rest of the time swiping left and right

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<v Speaker 3>on dating apps and they're scrolling up and down on TikTok.

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<v Speaker 3>Their whole life has spent hunched over a device. How

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<v Speaker 3>does that then get you to a point where other

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<v Speaker 3>comobilities become particularly problematic.

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<v Speaker 4>Well, it's things like when you have muscular skeletal conditions,

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<v Speaker 4>like as you said, the newly coined tech nek. What

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<v Speaker 4>happens is your posture is adversely affected your movement, your

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<v Speaker 4>ability to get around and just go about your daily activities.

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<v Speaker 4>Without pain is severely affected. And when you can't move

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<v Speaker 4>and be active, then there are those other comorbidities that

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<v Speaker 4>come into play. Your weight can be impacted, and when

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<v Speaker 4>your weight is impacted, things like diabetes comes into play,

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<v Speaker 4>things like cardiovascular disease. So having good muscle, joint, bone

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<v Speaker 4>health is so important to everyone. And as you said,

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<v Speaker 4>spending you know, eleven hours most of your waiting day

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<v Speaker 4>looking at computer screens, looking at telephones, and having that

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<v Speaker 4>adversely affect your posture and the way you can hold

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<v Speaker 4>yourself and your muscle, bone and joint health, it's becoming

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<v Speaker 4>a bit of a crisis.

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<v Speaker 3>Michael, seems to be okay now with that established, I

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<v Speaker 3>guess the obscusion is what do we do about it?

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<v Speaker 3>I mean, yoga seems to stretch and flex your muscles,

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<v Speaker 3>bones and joints. Having done it once or twice rather poorly,

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<v Speaker 3>is that part of the answer. I've read the other

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<v Speaker 3>day that adults are being total some are being told

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<v Speaker 3>to embrace tummy time.

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<v Speaker 2>Tummy time like babies.

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<v Speaker 3>Get on your tummy and put your neck up in

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<v Speaker 3>the air, that you reverse of technique.

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<v Speaker 4>Well, I think, I think, as you rightfully point out,

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<v Speaker 4>prevention is really important. So limiting your tech time is

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<v Speaker 4>a good start. But obviously a lot of us can't

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<v Speaker 4>do that for work, for all other commitments that we have.

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<v Speaker 4>So there are some simple things we can start to

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<v Speaker 4>introduce with our everyday activities. Ever heard about chair based exercise, Michael,

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<v Speaker 4>I have? Yeah. Chair based exercise is a great way

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<v Speaker 4>to think about moving differently. Think about your posture, think

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<v Speaker 4>about moving your arms, your legs, all while seated, and

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<v Speaker 4>you can do that in front of your computer. So

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<v Speaker 4>introducing movement like that throughout your day where you have

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<v Speaker 4>that break from looking at your screen, looking at your

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<v Speaker 4>telephone and doing some really simple movements. And I'll do

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<v Speaker 4>a plug for us here, Michael. On our free YouTube channel,

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<v Speaker 4>we have a series of great share based workouts that

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<v Speaker 4>people can access whenever they want, from a five minute

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<v Speaker 4>workout to a thirty minute workout, and they're a really

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<v Speaker 4>good way during a work day to just keep yourself moving.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, So che check out that YouTube link.

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<v Speaker 3>Okay, So I mean I wonder if we've got to

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<v Speaker 3>look at this a little bit, be a bit more

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<v Speaker 3>conscious like we are when we go on a flight.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, you sit down in an economy and you're

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<v Speaker 3>cooped up there like a battery. Hen we're told be

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<v Speaker 3>careful of DVT, get up, move around occasionally, do those

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<v Speaker 3>chair based exercises to get the blood pumping, the muscles moving,

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<v Speaker 3>and that sort of drilled into you when you get

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<v Speaker 3>on the long haul flight. I suppose these same messages

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<v Speaker 3>haven't been drilled into us when we go for a

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<v Speaker 3>long haul tech session at work, followed by all the

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<v Speaker 3>social media at home.

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<v Speaker 4>Exactly. You've spot on, absolutely spot on, And this is

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<v Speaker 4>what I was saying about the fact that muscular skiletal

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<v Speaker 4>health has to become an absolute top health priority. People

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<v Speaker 4>need to be aware of how moving regularly, from simple

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<v Speaker 4>things like share based exercise to walking around the block,

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<v Speaker 4>just moving. If you don't like walking or walking is

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<v Speaker 4>too painful, think about some warm water exercises. Get yourself

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<v Speaker 4>off to one of the many pools around the cities

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<v Speaker 4>that offer warm water exercises. They're great for your muscular,

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<v Speaker 4>skleetal health and to keep moving and just be active.

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<v Speaker 4>And that's the fundamental part of prevention and keeping good

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<v Speaker 4>muscle and bone and joint health.

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<v Speaker 3>All right, let me ask you this about from an

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<v Speaker 3>employer point of view, because They've got.

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<v Speaker 2>Duty of care here.

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<v Speaker 3>I mean, if the role and they're paying people to

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<v Speaker 3>do the role involves them being hunched over a screen

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<v Speaker 3>all the time, there's a I suppose a legal duty

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<v Speaker 3>of care that comes into play. So we're speaking of

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<v Speaker 3>chairs earlier. Some workplaces have spent some money on quality chairs,

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<v Speaker 3>standing desks, these sort of things for their office based teams.

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<v Speaker 2>But do they need to go further? Do you think?

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<v Speaker 4>What I would say first up is I'm not a clinician,

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<v Speaker 4>so I'm not coming at this from a clinical perspective,

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<v Speaker 4>but from an employer's perspective. I think anything that you

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<v Speaker 4>introduce into the workplace you have to ensure has a

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<v Speaker 4>solid evidence base to it. Because there are a lot

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<v Speaker 4>of things out on the market and a lot of

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<v Speaker 4>people touting things that don't have the qualifications that they

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<v Speaker 4>need to have to cout solutions to muscular skeletal pain

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<v Speaker 4>or to ensure muscular skeletal health. I think what you

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<v Speaker 4>need to do as an employer is make sure you

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<v Speaker 4>are looking at the research behind what is being presented

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<v Speaker 4>to you and making sure that is clinical and evidence based,

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<v Speaker 4>hopefully with some significant clinical trials behind it, and that

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<v Speaker 4>what you're implementing, your team is understanding why you're doing it,

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<v Speaker 4>what it's going to do for their muscular scletal health,

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<v Speaker 4>and how it can actually make them more productive. Because

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<v Speaker 4>you've got to admit, Michael, if staff is feeling a

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<v Speaker 4>bit of pain during the day because they've been sitting

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<v Speaker 4>too long, or their necks a bit because they've been

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<v Speaker 4>looking at a screen, surely making them feel better in

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<v Speaker 4>terms of their muscular skeletal health is going to improve

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<v Speaker 4>their productivity as well. So it's a win win.

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<v Speaker 3>They can be a pain, You're quite right, but I

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<v Speaker 3>shouldn't say I try to buy their love with cakes

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<v Speaker 3>and things. I assume that's not the sort of rectification

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<v Speaker 3>you had in mind.

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<v Speaker 4>Probably not. I'm a big fan of cakes, I can

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<v Speaker 4>tell you. But you've raised another really good point that

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<v Speaker 4>it's not only exercise, it's also nutrition that's really important

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<v Speaker 4>in this and there are a lot of foods that

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<v Speaker 4>you can actually eat that help your muscular scaletal health.

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<v Speaker 4>And once again another plug head to our website. We've

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<v Speaker 4>got many recipes free once again on our website that

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<v Speaker 4>help with lowering inflammation, help with improving bone density, all

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<v Speaker 4>of those sorts of things and they're actually really.

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<v Speaker 2>Delicious donuts on that list.

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<v Speaker 4>No, but I might work on that for you. Might

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<v Speaker 4>see what I can come up with.

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<v Speaker 2>You do something there that'd be wonderful. Helen. I appreciate

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<v Speaker 2>your time. Thank you so much.

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<v Speaker 4>Thanks mich I'll have a good afternoon.

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<v Speaker 3>You too, Helen Jensen said, see of musculo skeletal health Australia.

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<v Speaker 3>It's an important issue. It's only going to become more important.

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<v Speaker 3>We've got to deal with it. And maybe indeed you're

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<v Speaker 3>already dealing with it in your own way. But as

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<v Speaker 3>we go to the break, maybe we should all if

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<v Speaker 3>we're in our chairs, we should all just do the

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<v Speaker 3>YMCA mooves or something and just limber up a little bit.

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<v Speaker 3>And actually, having just spoken to hell And I'm noticing

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<v Speaker 3>there's a bit of pain in the back and whatever.

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<v Speaker 3>This wouldn't be the first time I've been described as

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<v Speaker 3>a pain in the neck or the back. But anyway,

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<v Speaker 3>it's ten to two