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Health knowledge made personal
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Health knowledge made personal
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Have you ever wondered why so many people fall prey to low back injuries, slumped posture, and an array of chronic overuse disorders like carpal tunnel syndrome?
Well, a lot of it has to do with the fact that most people spend most of their day sitting...and in a lot of cases, in front of a computer. If you think about sitting, you're really sitting directly on your spine. Not a great thing. When you stand, you at least have your legs to "buffer" or absorb whatever energy is being transmitted up your body. Not so when you're sitting. Over time, this creates recurring stress on the lower back. Combined with improper sitting ergonomics, the results are surely unpleasant. What about slaving over a keyboard all day. Consider the posture of being slumped forward with your shoulders rounded and head protruded. Over time, this can lead to what is known as "upper crossed syndrome", a condition whereby you end up looking like Quasimoto! How Do You Counteract These Chronic Postures? Here are 3 ways that will help: 1. Take a break every 20-3o minutes. This means get up off your chair, walk around, and have a stretch. This is very important as it prevent your muscles and tissues from adapting to an undesirable posture. 2. Go in the opposite direction Huh? Let me explain. If you are always seated, your are basically in what is known as "hip and spinal flexion". This is one of the biggest precipitating factors of low back pain although most people never even think about sitting as the cause. The goal then is to counteract this "flexion" position with one of "extension". For instance, to counteract the sitting position lay down on your stomach and prop yourself up onto your forearms or hands. This will put into "spinal and hip flexion" and has been shown by leading authorities, including back expert Dr. Stuart Mcgill, to help maintain and restore ideal vertebral (or spinal) health. 3. Strengthen your posterior chain The posterior chain is the back side of your body. It includes your back extensors, glutes, hamstrings, and calves. One of the best ways to have better, more erect posture is to train thes muscles. In so doing, they become more "taught" and, as a result, erect your body into it's natural posture. Exercises to use include deadlifts, stiff legged deadlifts, back extension, planks, side planks, and upper back retraction movements like back rows. Incorporating more of these exercises into yourworkout routineswill help balance the excessive amount of sitting and pushing-type movements that most people do. In return, your body will thank you with better posture and fewer repetitive strain injuries! YURI => Click here to get more posture-friendly full body workouts |
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