Effects of Sitting Combatted by Ashburn and Herndon Exercise and Not Sitting!
“Sitting. It’s the new smoking.” You have surely heard this claim. Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn sees the effects of sitting in our Ashburn and Herndon chiropractic practice in the form of back pain, neck pain and associated issues. Let’s consider sitting and being sedentary workers and what our options might be.
SITTING COMPARISON TO SMOKING
Is the sitting and smoking a little harsh? Maybe. One medical report stated that 300 news articles allude to this claim! (1) Glaring or not, it does highlight the concern that sitting a lot isn’t healthy for anyone. 25% of adults including Ashburn and Herndon chiropractic patients and adults sit more than 8 hours a day. Older adults are said to sit for even more time. (2) Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn realizes we all sit. We’re not shaming you! We are with you!
THE STATE OF NSCLBP in SEDENTARY WORKERS
Sitting is what we do. Researchers document that the activity level of low back pain suffers is low. Of 300 patients, 32.5% live sedentary lives, 48.5% had underactive lifestyles, and 68.3% of them did not do any activity to increase muscle strength or flexibility. (3) Continued sitting posed a risk for all-cause mortality separate from physical activity even if it is of moderate to vigorous effort. The best suggestion is to decrease the quantity of sitting not just increase physical activity levels. (4) Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn urges both, too!
WHAT CAN WE DO? EXERCISE (AND A BONUS: RESPIRATION IMPROVEMENT)
One author opined the conundrum of the “exercise to buffer sitting’s effect” suggestion as an “inconvenient truth”: a few weekly trips to the gym can’t really wipe away a lifetime of sitting. He also shared that fixing the sitting issue by standing has its own issues (beyond its being uncomfortable!) like foot pain and varicose veins. (5) So what then, particularly for low back pain sufferers? Dynamic strengthening exercises – those that concentrate on core and global stabilization plus endurance in stabilizing musculature – displayed better improvement in pain relief and better function particularly in the lumbar multifidus and transversus abdominus which are two muscles that low back pain bothers. (6) More precisely, a 20-week lumbar stabilization exercise and muscle strengthening exercise program decreased low back pain and functional disability in sedentary workers. A lumbar stabilization exercise program was more helpful and lasted for 12 weeks. (7) A bonus to lumbar segmental stabilization exercise is that it activated the deep muscles and boosted respiratory function and pressure in chronic low back pain patient who experienced segmental instability. (8) Respiration is important! Another study showed that forced breathing exercise therapy effectively enhanced trunk stability and daily living activities in chronic low back pain patients, especially for those with chronic lumbago in whom these exercises reduced pain. (9) Exercise works! It isn’t everything for us sedentary folks, but exercise is a piece of the puzzle.
CONTACT Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Shawn Nelson on The Back Doctors Podcast about The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management’s role in back pain management to help a runner re-gain his stride despite his facet syndrome back pain condition that bothers us sitting folks.
Schedule you Ashburn and Herndon chiropractic appointment with Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn today. If “sitting is the new smoking” issue describes you and back pain makes matters worse, Ashburn and Herndon chiropractic care is for you…besides trying not to sit that much and exercising a little more!
