Back Issues?
Back issues from sitting too much? Nobody wants to be confined to a chair for any amount of time, but unfortunately sometimes with our careers we find ourselves sitting much more than we care to. I, myself, begin experiencing discomfort in my back and hips if I’m sitting too long. Others are known to experience tightness and pain in their neck and shoulders, and over time can even start to develop the Dowager’s hump. Dowager’s hump is a worst-case result of bad posture, but I highly recommend reading up on it if you are showing early signs.
Keeping things very basic, the act of standing naturally puts our discs and spine in proper alignment without too much pressure on these areas. Our muscles are engaged, and everything is supported in the way it should be. On the other hand, when we sit for long periods, our vertebrae collapses, or becomes compressed, and our supporting muscles tend to weaken over time. Ultimately, this causes the nerves in between these discs to be put at risk.
The good news is, there are subtle changes that can be made to your workspace and routine that can help combat any back/neck issues you may be experiences:
Adjust your position frequently - Get out of your chair about every 15 minutes or so. Obviously, that’s not always possible, but when it is, stand up while you take a call, walk around your office while you’re dictating notes or have someone on speaker phone, go grab something to drink, etc. You get the point. Get up and move.
Stretch - Pay closer attention to what areas of your body are feeling tight and come up with some simple maintenance stretches that you can realistically do throughout the day. For me, I do simple back and neck stretches and some other stretches for tight hips.
·Make changes to your workspace - Adjustable computer stands and desks are great! Bringing that monitor to eyelevel while sitting or standing prevents unneeded strain on your neck and upper back. Your forearms, when sitting, should be parallel to the floor. If not the weight of your arms will naturally pull your shoulders forward and down creating strain on your upper back and neck (creating that hump over time). You can prop up your keyboard or adjust your chair to fix this. Most importantly when sitting, adjust your posture. Whatever you need to do, remind yourself to sit up straight. This will create the space your vertebrae need to take the pressure off those nerves and keep your spine from being compressed throughout the day.
At home maintenance - Look up some yoga movements on YouTube and do those, often! I promise you; it will be life changing. There is a male instructor that I follow, Dean Pohlman of Man-Flow-Yoga. He specifically gears his instruction towards men and is great at explaining things as you do them. Since the majority of my yoga clients are male military and CF athletes, I get a lot of my teaching methods from Dean. Don’t worry, I wouldn’t recommend following him if I thought he wasn’t a good fit for this specific audience.
The important thing here is to identify where you may be experiencing discomfort from sitting to long and to come up with some solutions to create a happier and healthier you in your workspace.
It’s a simple message this week, but an important reminder about self-care and remaining ‘always in pursuit’ of a better version of yourself. Enjoy your weekend all!
~Sarah N Burke