With the busy lifestyles we all have, it’s no wonder many people don’t make time to exercise. The apostle Paul tells us in Galatians 6:7, “a man reaps what he sows.” We need to make time for exercise in our busy day, or be prepared for the consequences of not exercising. I believe God designed us to be active and in motion. Unfortunately, most of us spend many of the hours of our day sitting. Research has revealed that sitting for prolonged periods of time is associated with increased high blood pressure and high sugar levels. Too much sitting is also linked to increased death from cardiovascular disease and cancer. Studies have also found that sitting more than eight hours per day with no physical activity, elevated their risk of dying similar to someone who was a smoker or obese. What’s a great way to combat this? Increase your activity. Something as simple as taking frequent breaks from sitting each hour. The standing desk is a great idea as well. I think the first step is recognizing prolonged sitting as a problem, then formulate a plan.
Fortunately, or unfortunately sitting is part of our lives. If we examine how we sit and make the proper ergonomic changes, we’ll minimize the damage sitting may be causing our low back. By God’s design we have a curve in our low backs, which helps us distribute our weight better. When we sit the load placed on our low back is 20-40% greater that standing. We often sit with a decreased or reversed low back curve. This results in a form of micro-trauma which can harm our back. Another ergonomic flaw is sitting with our hips lower than our knees. I refer to that as “tricycle posture”. Improper distribution of our weight is also a factor in sitting. We often lean back in our chairs and take the weight load off our legs, resulting in an increased load on the lumbar discs. Try to sit in a manner which involves distributing your weight into both feet also. As we work toward correcting the curve and the proper hip/knee heights, we also minimize the stress and strain on our lower backs.
More co-lateral damage related to prolonged sitting is weak hamstrings and buttock muscles, not to mention right hip flexors and quads. These imbalances contribute to low back pain and overall malaise. More the reason to get up and get moving. Yes, it’s as simple as that! We need 60-90 minutes of exercise per day, but that may be overwhelming. Why not commit to a 10 minute walk a day. Park a bit further than you normal. Take the stairs at work. It all adds up. Here are 3 little exercises, I call mini breaks. Perform one of these ever hour or two to break up the strain of prolonged sitting. Each one should only take a minute to perform.
Standing Balance: Stand on one leg and balance for 15 seconds. Be sure to perform this in a safe manner like standing in a door way, with your hands on the frame or some other support.
Standing Butt Kicker: Stand on one leg with a slight bend in the knee. Slowly and in a controlled motion, swing your other leg back and bend your knee at the same time. This should result in your foot approximating your buttock. This will activate the buttock and hamstring muscles as well as stretch those tight hip-flexors and quads.
Door Squats: Stand in the door way and grab the door frame. If you’re a gym rat, this is similar to TRX squats. The door frame will serve as your support to help minimize irritation to the knees. Position your knees above your ankles and keep them there as you descend into a squat. Your feet should be shoulders width and your feet slightly turned out. The real focus here is the low back curve. Maintain the curve as you squat. Don’t go deep. The goal is not to work the legs but dynamically educate the low back.
Believe it or not those little mini breaks if performed consistently, will bring you toward better health. Don’t stop there, check out your family’s seated posture. When it comes to posture, we have to check it before we wreck it. Yours in health, sit up straight.
Dr. Tom