The other day I read that, “Sitting
is the new smoking.” While that may be a bit dramatic, there is some truth
behind it. As was with smoking many years ago, many people today do not realize
how harmful sitting for extended periods of time each day can be. Overall, individuals
in our culture tend to sit too much, and sitting too much is harmful to our
health.
Did you know that the average
American sits for eight to nine hours a day? On top of that, we go home and
then proceed to lay down and sleep for (hopefully) seven to eight MORE hours
every day. That means our bodies are seated or in a horizontal position on an
average of sixteen of the twenty-four hours each day.
Mayo Clinic recently published a
study describing how sitting prolonged period of time dramatically increased an
individual’s risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes as well as other
medical problems. In addition to that, when we sit often, we begin to slouch. This slouching can lead to back pain or pinched nerves. Think about how big of an effect you have on your health if you repeatedly slouch while sitting at a desk day after day.
I am sure that we all realize that we
should be up and moving around more often, however, you probably want to raise
your hand right now and yell out that you make a living at a job that requires
you to sit at a desk all day.
Hear us out, though. Even if you do
have a job that requires you to stay in a seated position, we have a few tips
for getting more movement into your day. These tips can be done at any time of
the day, and the best part is that there is no equipment required—it’s free!
The first tip we give you is to
periodically (every hour or so) do what we call a seated spine stretch. This
stretch helps bring movement to your spine, shoulders, and neck. It is a super
simple stretch. The goal of this stretch is to NOT crack or pop your spine,
rather, the goal is to decompress the spine and get a great stretch.
To do this stretch:
First: Sit tall to keep your joints
open; do not let your spine bend forward.
Second: Place your left hand on the
inside of your left knee and exhale as you rotate right.
Third: When you breathe in, turn back
to a neutral position and then repeat on the other side. Repeat this stretch
5-10 times on each side.
Our second tip is to simply get up
and move. Try to take a break from sitting every 30 minutes. It could be as
simple as getting up and taking a few laps around the building. Give your eyes
a break. Give your back a break. Get your blood flowing! Set a timer if you
have to. Regardless of where you walk or how you remind yourself to get up and
do so, make sure you take breaks to get up and move.
Our third tip is to do what we call a
seated pigeon stretch. When you sit all
day, you shut down your glute muscles and tighten your legs. When you do this,
your piriformis muscles try to do the work of your entire behind. This leads to
the squeezing and pinching you sometimes feel in your sciatic nerve. In order
to help with this pinching, we suggest doing the following stretch a few times
each day.
First: Cross your right leg so your
right ankle is resting on your left thigh.
Second: Keep you back straight, and
using your arms, keep your right leg horizontal.
When you do this, you should feel a
good stretch in your gluteal cheek. Repeat this on both legs.
If you make a mental effort to
incorporate these three suggestions into your daily life, we promise you will
notice the benefits. Some may argue that they do not have time for it, but we
disagree. Doctors and researchers have found that you actually get more done in
less time when you add activity to your daily life.
Making small changes like this into
your daily life can have huge benefits
on your overall health (especially your spinal health)! Stay tuned for updates
as to our “official” opening date for Redenius Chiropractic. We are finishing
up the interior and are working to get the “back paper work” end of it all
ready to go! We are hoping to officially open the first or second week of
August.
Just like last week, we will be giving away a FREE prize this week! All you need to do is “Like” the Redenius Chiropractic official Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/redeniuschiropractic/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel) and SHARE this blog post to your own page by Thursday, July 21, 2016 The giveaway is open to USA residents only. This week, we will be giving away a gift card to Sweet Things in Lake City!
Have a great week!
Dr. Jeff and Jenny Redenius
Thanks for sharing this information. Last month my mom took treatment for her back pain that she has been suffering from past couple of years. One of her friends suggested her to take treatment from Mississauga chiropractors who are experts in treating these problems.
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