Tips for staying healthy with everyday mobility

You need your body in tip-top shape to help you through the day. Whether it's doing the laundry or taking out the trash, here's how to stay healthy with proper mobility.

As you move throughout your day, here are some basics you'll benefit from knowing:

Perfect lifts: Lifting laundry baskets or stacks of magazines can be hard on the back. But done correctly, lifting can also provide a good workout for muscles and joints. Here's how:

• Get close to the object and try to keep it near your centre of gravity.
• Keep your back straight and bend at the knees to raise the object off the ground.
• Once you've completed the lift, don't turn at the waist. Keep the object close to your body, point your toes where you want to go and turn your entire body.

Standing: When standing at the kitchen counter, try resting one foot on a platform about five to 10 centimetres (two to four inches) high, and occasionally shifting weight from one foot to another.

Stairs: Going about using the stairs the right way can minimize pain or help prevent it from getting worse:

• Avoid taking steps one foot at a time, leading with the better foot. If it's safe to do so, take steps with alternating feet, using the rail for support.
• Use your arms for balance, but don't pull yourself up the stairs.

A cane: Some people feel using a cane makes them seem old or crippled, but it's better to think of it strictly as a functional tool that takes pressure off the hips. Be sure to:

• Hold the cane in the hand opposite the side that hurts, which studies find reduces the load on the hip by 50 per cent. Using a cane on the wrong side actually increases pressure on the hip.
• Get a cane that matches your height, ideally coming about wrist high when your arm is hanging at your side.
• A cane just isn't for you? Why not try trekking poles?