Saturday 12th October
We evolved from animals who walked on four legs, to two. We went from walking miles a day foraging and hunting, to sat. We sit as we eat breakfast, get into a car or public transport where we are sat on our way to work (or study), to sit and work, only to return home… sat down again. And how to we take a load off from the stress of our day?
We sit in front of a TV, and eat dinner sat down. We have evolved to stand, walk and run on our two feet. And we sit. Sitting loads the discs in our spines 10x as much as being stood up or walking does. Our muscles, ligaments and tendons adapt to this seated position. So when we stand, our body is compensating as if we are sitting.
Our hip flexors become tight, creating further pressure through the front of the spine. Our hamstrings become tight, and our spinal erectors and core become under active. The lack of movement and appropriate loading over time, causes dysfunction which leads to pain.
So we have to reverse engineer the cycle.
1) Try not to sit for more than 20 minutes at a time. It takes 20 minutes for the ligaments in our body to start to change shape. Take a load off the discs in your spine by getting up from sitting at least every 20 minutes
2) Get your steps in! Try going on two or three 10–15-minute walks a day. Most of us get very little exercise in during the week. Walking helps the hips, joints in the pelvis and low back work appropriately. As well as being great for general health.
3) Spend 5 minutes a day stretching muscles which get tight through sitting. This can be as easy as 1 minute for each hip flexor, hamstring and 1 minute worth of hanging.
4) Move! In almost any way. There is something called pain gate theory. This explains how movement can desensitise a painful area. When in doubt, move gently through ranges which don’t exacerbate the pain. It can help provide a lot more comfort.
Have a look at your lifestyle and see where you can make small changes. These small changes add up over time. Returning us to a better functioning body.
