The case of the killer chair... don't take this sitting down!

I often tell my patients the story of how my posture actually got worse after chiropractic school! It seems ironic that that would have happened, but when you take into the account the years spent sitting in classes, sitting in the library, sitting at my computer and sitting while I worked part time as a tutor, you will  understand how this happened.

As a society, we are sitting longer and sitting more. We are sitting while traveling, sitting at work and probably even sitting in front of the TV at the end of a long day. It's no wonder patients come in every day complaining of posture related back pain. Whether its recently developed pain whenever they try to go from standing to sitting, increased pain with unexpected movements or more pain coming on first thing in the morning, these problems may be attributed to just too much sitting! But why is sitting so bad? Here are five reasons to think twice before taking your seat.

1. You loose 22 min of life for every hour spent sitting watching TV!
I tried doing the math on this one for me personally and just found it too scary to continue. Please believe that I did not make this up just to scare you into sitting less. An Australian study published last year in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that sitting may be as bad for you as smoking and that every hour spent sitting while watching TV may shorten the life span by 22 minutes. In addition to the more obvious effect of sitting on the musculo-skeletal system, studies are now showing that sitting may have a profound effect on the cardiovascular system as well.

2. Sitting has a negative effect on your core and back muscles
My patient's will all tell you: I'm always telling them to "focus on the core." What we do know is that

prolonged sitting weakens the core and gluteal muscles and can lead to tight hip flexors. Some studies suggest that there is a direct relationship between weak gluteal muscles, tight hip flexors, weak core muscles and chronic back and hip pain.

3. ... And neck and shoulder muscles too!
I can very often tell just by looking which of our patients sit for long hours at a computer screen. The shoulders are often rounded and the head is usually positioned a bit farther forward than usual. For these patients the complaint is usually neck pain, headaches, shoulder and rotator cuff problems. All of these tend to be helped when the posture is improved and sitting at the computer is reduced!

4. Sitting kills the discs!
OK so we have established, sitting is bad but did you know there is something even worse than sitting? That would be sitting without the proper lumbar support or sitting while slumped of flexed forwards! This can cause disruption of the lumbar discs, and most of us know how painful and debilitating disc problems can be. Most people at least know somebody or know somebody who knows somebody who has had the low back pain with radiating pain down into the legs. If spending less time sitting can help with that I know most of us will be stepping away from that chair!

5. Sitting kills the joints in the low back
As the discs in the back thin, the small joints in the back have to bear more weight. This may result in more back pain from the joints in the back as well as from the overworked back muscles.

I hate to be the bearer of all bad news, so here is the silver lining: Most of us can still do something about our sitting habit. While typing this blog post i'm actually taking my own advice and standing at my counter in my office where I tend to do most of my charting. Here are a few suggestions for you.

- Make sure there is proper lumbar support when sitting and that chairs at work are ergonomic. talk to your chiropractor about appropriate lumbar supports and what to look for in a work chair.
- Avoid slumping in your chair when you do have to sit.
- If sitting for work is the only option, take micro breaks and use these breaks to do simple postural exercises. Your chiropractor can help with those too!
- Some employers may be interested in the idea of adding a standing work station to a desk or may even go as far as installing a treadmill desk!
- 30 min of walking every day can go a long way. Try to build walking into your schedule. Parking farther away from the building, taking the stairs and walking over to a colleague instead of sending an e mail are little steps with a big pay off.
- Core strengthening exercises help keep back pain at bay.
- To break the cycle of poor posture and pain sometimes professional help may be needed. Specialized soft tissue and joint manipulation as well as individualized prescribed exercises may be what is needed in more severe cases.

Chiropractors are specially trained to help patients of all ages who have back pain so if you have questions please do call your chiropractor. Walking and standing is not for everyone so do talk to you health care provider or call us in office, we would be happy to help!

Regards in health,
Dr. Shepherd