“Sitting Disease” is a term that many in the scientific community use to refer to the rise of sedentary lifestyles. Technological advances have brought our world many wonders, but there are also some downsides. Think about the last time you watched television for a few hours, or the last time you browsed funny videos on your phone. Oftentimes people are not sitting in a proper position which puts strain on the neck, shoulders, and back.
How Bad is Sitting All Day For Your Spine?
Think about the last time you spent a long period of time sitting. If you work at any kind of desk or office job, this is likely a daily occurrence. By sitting for long periods of time your posture and spine begin to suffer. Many people will begin to slouch and have their necks tilted at odd angles so that they can view their screen. Additionally, many people will develop a rounded shoulder posture because working on a computer all day results in positioning the head forward and rolling the shoulders forward from having the arms extended to the keyboard. This can result in some serious neck and shoulder pain.
Did you know that sedentary lifestyles increase the risk for cardiovascular disease and even type 2 diabetes for adults? Sedentary lifestyles can also lead to symptoms of chronic pain that never seems to go away. Many people with a sedentary lifestyle may actually feel a lot more tired just from sitting all day. Spending many days sitting for hours will increase the rate of wear and tear of your spinal discs making pain very common.
Everyday Changes and Chiropractic Care
Good chiropractic care is much more than simply going into your Southlake chiropractor’s office. It’s also about making changes to your daily routine and lifestyle while utilizing chiropractic care to fix and maintain your body. One smart, easy change you can make if you have a sedentary lifestyle is to set a timer. This timer can be for every 30 minutes or for one hour, but no longer than an hour apart. When that timer goes off, get up from your chair and move around a little. Do some light stretching, short exercises, or even just walk over to the break room.
Have you ever set up a “posture check” reminder? If you have bad posture, this may be a good idea for you. In addition to a timer to let you know to stand up and move around, you can also set up a timer to alert you about every 15 minutes to correct your posture. When that timer goes off, check yourself. Are you sitting up straight? Is your monitor or screen at eye level with you? Are your shoulders straight and pulled back? If you answered no to any of those, correct your posture and then keep working. You may be surprised at how quickly your posture reverts to a relaxed but bad position as you work. Becoming more consciously aware of your posture will help correct bad posture.
Having a mixture of sitting, standing, and moving around throughout your day provides tremendous relief to your spine. When you are sitting, your spine is compressed by up to 30% more than when you are standing. This daily, continuous compression of the spine can lead to a higher risk for herniated or slipped discs, degenerative disc disease, sciatica, and back pain. Getting great chiropractic care in Southlake will put you on the path back to pain-free.
Add Meyer Chiropractic to Your Wellness Plan
If you’ve been experiencing symptoms of chronic pain, stiffness in your back, shoulder and neck pain, or even headaches, contact us at Meyer Chiropractic today to add our expert chiropractic care to your wellness. We will work with you to target your needs to enhance wellness, prevent disease, and ease chronic symptoms. Our patients are our Southlake, Texas family and we are here for you.
We can also evaluate to see if Soft Wave Therapy is right for you. This is a fantastic alternative to surgery and helps to stimulate the body’s own cells to help heal injuries. Soft Wave Therapy is one of the latest breakthroughs in regenerative medicine that you don’t want to pass on.
