Leading a sedentary lifestyle has always been frowned upon by health experts and medical professionals. We have long known the adverse effects of sitting for extended periods of time, but how is it really affecting your back health?
The majority of corporate workers are spending more time sitting than moving around. When we sit for long periods of time, our bodies naturally tend to hunch forwards while our lower back is forced in a prolonged flexed position. When these happens, a constant flexion causes the shortening and contracting of our hip flexors. Once these occurs, our back muscles lengthen, chest muscles contract, leaving the abdominal muscles relaxed instead of engaged.
The consequence falls on your back health
Subsequently, the muscles force the natural curvature of the spine to become warped. This doesn’t just mean a forward curve, it could literally curve at the sides at multiple sides of either the thoracic spine, cervical spine or lumbar spine.
Not to mention the lumbar disc, which is located at the lower end of your back is compressed on a daily basis, up to 365 days a year. When this happens, either the disc space in itself could cause pain or a nerve may get pinched in the process, causing the back pain that affects back health.
With the multitude of problems that working at the desk can cause, it is not uncommon to see people walking around with a hunched back, protruding head (forward head syndrome) and complaining of lower back problems.
What to do to protect your back health
It’s not something you get to hear every day, but the treatment is easier DONE than said. Stand up and walk for two minutes for every half hour spent sitting at a desk. Not only does it help to relieve strain on your back, it activates other parts of your body such as the gluteal muscle and prevents them from becoming “inactive”.
For those that have already suffered the brunt from sitting, a more aggressive approach may be considered. You need to stretch and strengthen your gluteal muscles, pectoral major and minor along with constant activation of your back muscles (rhomboid major, trapezius and latissimus dorsi).
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