Effects of Sitting Combatted by Williamson Exercise and Not Sitting!
“Sitting. It’s the new smoking.” You’ve heard it. Apple Country Chiropractic sees the effects of sitting in our Williamson chiropractic practice in the form of back pain, neck pain and related issues. Let’s discuss sitting and being sedentary workers and what we can do about it.
SITTING COMPARISON TO SMOKING
Is the sitting and smoking a little harsh? Maybe. One medical report uncovered that 300 news articles allude to this claim! (1) Harsh or not, it does call attention to the concern that sitting a lot is not healthy for anyone. 25% of adults Williamson chiropractic patients and adults included sit more than 8 hours daily. Older adults supposedly sit even more. (2) Apple Country Chiropractic knows we all sit. We’re not shaming you! We’re with you!
THE STATE OF NSCLBP in SEDENTARY WORKERS
Sitting is what we do. Researchers document that low back pain sufferers’ activity levels are low. Of 300 patients, 32.5% live sedentary lives, 48.5% live 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 unrelated to physical activity even if it is of moderate to vigorous effort. The best suggestion is to reduce sitting time not just increase physical activity levels. (4) Apple Country Chiropractic supports both, too!
WHAT CAN WE DO? EXERCISE (AND A BONUS: RESPIRATION IMPROVEMENT)
One author opined the challenge of the “exercise to buffer sitting’s effect” implication as an “inconvenient truth”: a few weekly visits to the gym can’t really wipe away a lifetime of sitting. He also contended that fixing the sitting issue by standing has its own issues (beyond its being uncomfortable!) like varicose veins and foot pain. (5) So what then, particularly for low back pain sufferers? Dynamic strengthening exercises – those that concentrate on core and global stabilization as well as endurance in stabilizing musculature – showed better improvement in pain relief and better function especially in the lumbar multifidus and transversus abdominus which are two muscles that low back pain affects. (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 proved more helpful and persisted 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 a big deal! Another study demonstrated 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 decreased pain. (9) Exercise works! It’s not everything for us sedentary folks, but exercise is a piece of the puzzle.
CONTACT Apple Country Chiropractic
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 Williamson chiropractic appointment with Apple Country Chiropractic today. If “sitting is the new smoking” issue describes you and back pain complicates it, Williamson chiropractic care is for you…together with trying not to sit so much and exercising a little more!
