Damage of sitting all day.
For many people, work means hours and hours of sitting, with rare pauses for a walk around the block or even down the hall. While it’s easy to dismiss this as a routine part of adult life, it is becoming a growing concern among researchers.
Spending hours in a chair can cause all kinds of damage to your body, and even shorten your lifespan.
When you’re in pain, it may be hard to make yourself get up and move. But consider this: A growing body of evidence suggests that spending too many hours sitting is hazardous to your health.
Habitual inactivity raises risks for obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, deep-vein thrombosis, and metabolic syndrome.
Take stock of your office workstation. Make sure you have an ideal ergonomic setup. A sit-to-stand desk is a great option to decrease your sit time. If a standing desk is not available, you can move your laptop or desktop computer to a high counter.
When sitting, consider using a lumbar roll (or a rolled-up towel) placed at the small of your back, between your back and the chair to improve alignment. For the more adventurous, consider a treadmill desk.
Take stock of your office workstation. Make sure you have an ideal ergonomic setup. A sit-to-stand desk is a great option to decrease your sit time. If a standing desk is not available, you can move your laptop or desktop computer to a high counter.
When sitting, consider using a lumbar roll (or a rolled-up towel) placed at the small of your back, between your back and the chair to improve alignment. For the more adventurous, consider a treadmill desk.
Vascular problems
If your lower legs and feet get tired, swollen, and achy, you could be experiencing blood and fluid pooling in those areas after a long period of sitting.
In the worst cases, you can develop deep vein thrombosis (DVT). This is when a blood clot forms in a deep leg vein, which is dangerous because it can travel to the lung.
Blood clots tend to originate for three reasons. A blood disorder can make a person prone to clotting, while an injury or related trauma may also raise risk for DVT. But the third reason – the one over which we all have control—is stasis, being still or sedentary.
Women who are pregnant or taking birth control, elderly people, and people who smoke are at especially high risk. Not exercising or moving around on occasion can lead to a more extensive blood clot.
Disclaimer: The information on this POST is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional advice. The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this article is for general information purposes / educational purposes only, and to ensure discussion or debate.
Thank you …Prolonged sitting puts significant stress on spinal structures as well as other joints, such as the shoulders and hips, especially when sitting with poor posture.
When we sit at our computers, we often slouch, craning our necks forward which, over time, can lead to persistent postural misalignment.
Sitting can also lead to overall deconditioning, early muscle fatigue, weakened core stabilizers, and tightening of the hip flexors, resulting in increased stress on your low back and reduced spine flexibility.
It also affects the gluteal buttock muscles over time, leading to deactivation and weakening of these muscles. Sometimes this is referred to as gluteal amnesia, which can lead to low back pain and hip pain.
Inactivity and prolonged sitting can lead to weakening of the bones (osteoporosis). It is important to move frequently throughout your day to counteract the negative effects of sitting.
Do you want to add a word or two?….
Make sure you have an ideal ergonomic setup. A sit-to-stand desk is a great option to decrease your sit time.
If a standing desk is not available, you can move your laptop or desktop computer to a high counter.
When sitting, consider using a lumbar roll (or a rolled-up towel) placed at the small of your back, between your back and the chair to improve alignment. For the more adventurous, consider a treadmill desk.
If a standing desk is not an option, I usually recommend getting up every 30 minutes or so to move and stretch.
Instead of sending an email to your co-worker down the hall, discuss the issue with them in person.
Use a smaller water bottle that requires you to walk to the cooler to fill it more frequently throughout the day.
Your comments ….
A pedometer to monitor your steps is also a great way to keep track of your activity, especially if you share step counts with friends or co-workers to keep each other motivated.
If you’re watching TV at home, take standing, walking, and stretching breaks during commercials. I am a fan of any healthy motivational tool to keep you up and moving throughout the day—movement is medicine.
Our bodies were not designed to sit for long periods of time, yet most of us are guilty of sitting too much. Regardless of our age or occupation, we sit — in front of a screen — far more frequently than we should be. While more and more doctors confirm the negative effects of a sedentary life, the good news is that people can actively address the wear-and-tear with some simple changes.
Sitting too long can harm our bodies — from our necks through our backs and even down to our feet — and discusses steps people can take to stay healthy, high functioning, and pain-free.
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