Sitting too long can have adverse effects on your health.
If you are a patient of ours, you have most likely heard us talking about sitting too long and the importance of taking breaks from sitting every once in a while. In fact, I talk about this in our “Helping Yourself” section of our website:
Sitting creates up to two to three times more pressure inside your discs. If you must sit, use good posture and find a chair that helps you do this. If your rear end sinks down and your back is rounded toward the back, this opens the disc spaces where they are usually damaged and weakest, plus it strains muscles and ligaments. A slouched sitting posture also reverses the normal forward curve in you neck and cranes your head forward, creating substantial strain on muscles and ligaments. The normal curves in your spine, as seen from the side view, are the primary shock absorbing mechanism – not the discs. Without these curves, your discs are forced to endure extra loads.
The advice I give most people, especially those who sit at a desk all day, is to set a reminder to get up and walk around the office for a little bit about every 20 to 30 minutes. This can be an alarm on your phone, a note on your desk or even a bright sticker on your computer screen, just something that lets you know it’s time to get up and move around a little bit. This not only helps take some of the load off of your discs and help your posture, but, as you’ll see in the infographic below, may even help you live longer.
Dr. Jason Schluter is a Chiropractor in Tulsa, OK at Schluter Chiropractic.
Schluter Chiropractic is conveniently located off Memorial Drive in Tulsa, Oklahoma and provides quality chiropractic care to Tulsa and the surrounding areas.
To schedule an appointment, call (918) 664-3571 or visit www.DrSchluter.com.
