Proper sitting posture can reduce risk

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/05/2016 (3419 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A number of studies in recent years have suggested that people who sit too much are at higher risk for a number of chronic conditions, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

The connection has prompted experts and observers alike to suggest that sitting is quickly becoming the new smoking — a reference to the health hazards associated with tobacco use.

But there is another issue that can be added to the growing list of concerns associated with sitting too much, one that sometimes gets overlooked: neck and back pain.

Indeed, even people who meet the guidelines for physical activity may not be able to counter the orthopedic problems caused by hours spent sitting improperly.

Unlike smoking, we can’t eliminate sitting from our daily lives, so the question remains: what can we do to reduce the risk of orthopedic problems?

The answer, of course, is that we can choose to improve our posture when sitting. In order to understand why that can helps us avoid neck and back pain down the road, it helps to have some information about how our back functions.

Our spine is made up of three main areas: the cervical (neck), thoracic (mid back) and lumbar (low back) spine.

The function of the spine is to support and distribute our body weight, which is accomplished through a series of alternating curves that can be seen as an “S” shape from a side view.

Maintaining this “S” shape is vital for neutral spine stability. Headaches, neck and shoulder pain, mid- and low-back pain, hip pain and numbness into our limbs can arise when we sit with the spine aligned inefficiently.

A common postural fault in sitting is the forward flexed position, which turns our “S” shaped spine into a “C.” The head becomes an 18-kilogram weight to our neck, the muscles of the spine are lengthened and the discs between our spinal joints are compressed.

Another postural fault occurs when we try to sit up straight, but end up over-arching our lumbar spine. Here the muscles at the back of the spine are shortened and become tight, the spinal segments at the lower back become locked into place, and the pelvis is tilted forward leading to muscle imbalance.

There are three easy rules to follow that will enable you to begin the journey to sitting well.

The first rule is to sit with a neutral spine. Your weight should be distributed evenly to the sitting bones and the spine should follow an “S” shaped curve. Your head needs to be placed on top of your neck and your chin needs to be tilted into a tucked rather than poked forward position. You may need to adjust your sitting environment to assist rather than hinder your success.

Rule number two requires that you include some form of movement for the lower extremities during periods of prolonged sitting. This can include standing up and squeezing your gluteal muscles, performing a few repetitions of body-weight squats and stretching the front of the hips.

The recommendations are that for every 20 to 30 minutes spent sitting, you need to get up and move for two to three minutes. (And don’t worry about work disruptions; studies show that our brain functions improves when we give ourselves movement breaks, which effectively boosts productivity.)

The final rule requires that you must manage any negative consequences from prolonged sitting by maintaining good range of motion, strength and flexibility.

If you are suffering from pain that can’t be alleviated by these techniques, you may want to consider visiting a physiotherapist. In addition to performing manual therapy, physiotherapists can how you how to do rehabilitative exercises to address your particular issues.

We can all avoid unnecessary pain by learning how to sit properly, but in order to do so, you will need a strategy to actively participate in sitting. And don’t forget, practice makes permanent.

Janine Didyk is a physiotherapist with the Pan Am Clinic.