Passover is approaching and with it the house cleaning marathon begins. Hadas Kahalani, director of the physiotherapy services of Clalit Health Services in the Dan-Petah Tikva district, recommends a series of safety cleaning rules for the holiday.
Kahalani recommends wearing sports shoes. If there are no sports shoes, closed shoes must be worn. In any case, it is not recommended to wear flip-flops during exertion, walking or standing for long periods of time.
"You have to make sure that the floor at home is dry during the activity", she points out - "You should avoid climbing on a chair in order to reach the height (curtain, windows or bookcase). If it is necessary to reach the height, it is recommended to use a ladder and do it under the supervision of another person."
To make housework easier, she recommends planning the tasks for each day in advance so as not to arrive at the holiday tired.
It is important to keep your back straight while doing housework. For this purpose, it is recommended to adjust the height of the mop stick or mop to shoulder height and place the bucket of water on a chair and not on the floor. According to her, these actions will prevent multiple back bends when washing the floor and may prevent the back pain that will develop as a result.
When standing for a long time, you should use a stool. Stand in a standing position and place a different foot on the stool each time, thus reducing the pressure on the lower back.
She also recommends that if you want to move a piece of furniture, it's better to push it but not pull it.
"When lifting objects, stand in front of the object, bend with the knees and not the back, and bring the object closer to the body. If the object is too heavy, it is recommended to have the help of another person," she explains - "one should take short breaks of two to three minutes every half hour of work. Use these minutes to pull pranks."
Kahalani explains that most often the pains that appear after housework are due to muscle fatigue. "The break and stretching will give the muscles time to recover and allow you to continue working more easily. If you feel that you must lie down, it is recommended to lie down and raise your legs up on a stool or chair."
She also recommends not giving up exercise and walking during the holiday preparations. Walking for half an hour at the beginning of the day can actually help. When walking, the muscles warm up and the blood flow is increased. This allows you to function better during the day and get less tired. Physical activity is not a waste of time but on the contrary, it makes us more efficient.