Humans are built to stand upright, to move around, exercise and burn energy.  Our hearts, cardiovascular system and even our bowel work more effectively that way. When we are physically active our overall energy levels improve and our bones and muscles maintain good strength.

Many of us sit for our day jobs and as a result must work harder at maintaining postural strength, flexibility and overall body function. If we understand what sitting does to the body we can minimise the effects and maintain optimal health while having to sit for long periods of time. So lets examine what sitting actually does to the body…

Legs and Glutes

Sitting for long periods can lead to weakening and wasting away of the large leg and gluteal muscles. These muscles are important for stabilising the pelvis and supporting your back. If they become weak the likelihood of experiencing some form of back or knee pain is extremely high. Sitting for long periods also shortens the hip flexors and hamstrings which can cause havoc with the lower back.

Spine

Poor sitting posture can also cause problems with spine health such as compression in your disks leading to premature degeneration; this can be very painful. (Sitting increases disk compression significantly and if you’re constantly leaning forward to see the screen it increases even more.)

Stiff neck and shoulders

If you spend your time hunched over a computer keyboard or your screen isn’t at the right height it can lead to pain and stiffness in your neck and shoulders. For every inch your head is forward of where it should be aligned it increases the load placed on the neck muscles by almost double!

Weight/digestion 

Moving your muscles helps your body digest the food you eat. If you spend a lot of time sitting, digestion is not as efficient, so you retain the fats and sugars as fat in your body. Inactivity  also causes problems with elimination and bowel function and can lead to constipation.

Increased health risks

Some research suggests that people who are inactive and sit for long periods have a  higher risk of suffering a heart attack, stroke and diabetes.  Sitting for long periods can also cause varicose veins or spider veins due to the blood pooling in your legs and not being circulated effectively.

THE SOLUTION…

So how can we combat these problems and ensure we don’t suffer from postural pain, digestive issues or other related health concerns.

Ensure your computer set up is optimal. This means:

1. Your computer screen and keyboard are directly in front of you.
2. The computer screen should be at eye level and close enough you can see it and not have to lean forward.
3. Adjust your seat and desk so that your arms and legs are roughly parallel to the floor.
4. Ensure you type with wrists flat or angled down.
5. If you use a document holder try to alternate it with being on the left and right side.
6. If you have the option alternate between a standing and sitting desk to help alleviate the compression on the spine.

Make sure you move around frequently 

Idealing getting up every 30-60 min to move around or stretch. Maybe even go for a lunchtime walk, even if it is short it will do the body wonders.

New research  shows that even 30 minutes of exercise can help to combat some of the dangers associated with sitting.

Stretch and maintain good hip flexor and hamstring length

As sitting for long periods with muscles in a shortened position causes them to tighten we need to make sure that we stretch these muscles frequently to maintain good length in them so they don’t create postural issues for us. In summary the solution is simple, have a good desk set up – if you experience pain something is likely to be wrong. Move around frequently and maintain good flexibility in those muscles that tend to shorten as a result of siting. If we stay on top of these things we will be able to do our jobs well, suffer less pain and maintain good health.

If your unsure about your set up as your FORM Trainer for recommendations, we will be happy to help.