Sitting is the New Smoking

Chiropractors noticed an increasing number of patients coming into their offices with spinal problems connected directly to sitting long hours.

Spinal health is dependent on good alignment, healthy balanced muscles, and a proper nerve flow. Our spinal health habits of how we use our back and body as it interreacts with the world around us play an important part in our ability to stay healthy in this way. 

Long hours sitting and bending our head and shoulders forward create a tremendous stress over time on our spinal muscles and eventually we develop problems of bad alignment to compound the situation. Once off balance long enough the spine will begin to show symptoms of this condition known as vertebral subluxation complex.

Depending on the severity and the time that subluxations persist common symptoms such as sciatica, spinal muscle pains, arm and shoulder pains and headaches often develop.

If this condition goes unchecked and enough time goes by, our posture can be affected and poor posture can set in. Poor posture has been shown through medical research to have a wide array of potential problems that move beyond neuro-muscular to more general health problems such as breathing, vascular and digestive in nature.

Proper posture:

• hips parallel to the floor
• Shoulders even (you can roll your shoulders up, back, and down to help make this happen)
• Neutral spine (no flexing or arching to over- or underemphasize the curve in your lower back)
• Arms at your sides with elbows straight and even
• Abdominal muscles braced
• Hips even
• Knees even and pointing straight ahead
• Body weight distributed evenly on both feet

Awareness and understanding the risks are the key to correction. Creating a proper protocol for correction and maintenance is the job of a Doctor of Chiropractic.

In addition to the above, some more common problems include:

Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)

Repetitive Strain Injury results from forceful, awkward, and/or repetitive use of your limbs, producing damaged muscles, tendons, and nerves. The severity of RSI cases varies widely. Tendonitis is the most common example of RSI, while carpal tunnel syndrome is a more rare and serious disorder. RSI occurs frequently among computer users, musicians, lab workers, and other people with occupations requiring repetitive movements.

Although RSI is a broad term that encompasses several disorders, general symptoms include tingling or loss of sensation in fingers, inability to grasp objects between thumb and fingers, decrease in the size of hand muscles, and pain in the wrist, elbow, shoulder, or neck. If you’re suffering from these symptoms, get immediate medical attention to increase the chances of quick and total recovery. Discontinue the activities that cause you pain. If using a computer is painful, but necessary, try to vary your work activities so you’re not using the keyboard and mouse for long periods of time. You can make adjustments to your workstation to make yourself more comfortable (see above section).

In order to prevent RSI, adjust your desk and computer area to promote good posture. Remember that the human body is not made to sit still for long periods of time, so get up and move around as much as you can. This may involve taking 30-60 second breaks every ten minutes or so, and getting up to walk around and stretch your muscles every hour. You can also vary your motions by changing tasks. Type for a while, then read, take notes by hand, or organize papers. Stretching your wrists, shoulders, and neck will help reduce muscle tension. Roll your shoulders, rotate your head from one side to the other, massage your shoulders, and stretch your wrists by pulling the fingers back toward the wrist. When you’re typing, be sure not to bang on the keyboard, and avoid lazy wrists. Using a brace or taking pain relievers doesn’t deal with the primary cause of RSI and may lead to further injury.

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS)

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and thoracic outlet syndrome are two of the most disabling repetitive strain injuries. These conditions are disorders of the tendons, nerves, arteries, or veins occurring at the wrist and upper arm, respectively. In CTS, repeated bending or use of the wrist and fingers results in the compression of the median nerve (runs along the palm side of the wrist) causing intermittent numbness, tingling, and pain in the side of the hand including the thumb through the inside of the ring finger. The hand’s communication with the brain is disrupted and the fingers have difficulty sensing temperature and gripping objects. Victims may also notice swelling of the hand and forearm. Pain and numbness in the fingers not only occur while typing, but also at night. The advanced stage is characterized by decreased muscle bulk in the thumb area and decreased sensation. If untreated, these symptoms can become chronic and permanently disabling, and may cause a change in one's lifestyle and career.

Computer eye strain:

Carpal tunnel syndrome is probably the most widely known repetitive strain injury (RSI), but eyestrain is the most common. If uncorrected, eyestrain can lead to general fatigue, increased myopia (nearsightedness), and a decrease in overall efficiency. Everyone is at risk for eyestrain, especially those who work at a computer for more than three hours a day.

Eyestrain usually results in a combination of any of the following symptoms:

• headache
• dry eyes, "gritty" feeling in the eyes
• blurred vision
• eye fatigue
• changes in color perception

What causes eye strain?

Eyestrain is primarily a result of overworking the muscles of the eyes. This can happen in four ways. The first is simply a result of human evolution: our eyes have evolved to see at a distance in a three-dimensional world, but a monitor presents the user with a close-up, two-dimensional environment. As a result, after hours in front of the computer, the eye focusing point extends beyond the screen and out to a resting point of accommodation. This causes the user to exert extra effort to keep the eyes focused on the screen.

Glare is another common factor in eye muscle fatigue. Like a TV screen, if there is a glare on the monitor the eyes have to work harder to discern an image on the screen.

Thirdly is the position of the monitor. In their natural resting position the eyes accommodate a field of vision straight ahead and slightly down. If the monitor doesn't fall in that field of vision, muscles must continually work to hold the eyes differently.

The final way to overwork the muscles of the eye is to use rapid, repetitive movements such as darting your eyes between a source document and the screen.

Aside from eye muscle fatigue, the eyeball itself can become irritated, contributing to eyestrain. Studies have shown that while staring at a monitor, users "forget" to blink which deprives the eye of needed moisture. This is exacerbated by the dry, hot air most monitors and computer CPUs generate and disperse into the environment. Another source of irritation is dust. Most monitors create an electrostatic field that propels particles toward the user and into the eyes. All of these things create a hostile environment for the eyes.

In attempting to view the screen more clearly users tend to hold their heads in unnatural positions, which contributes to neck and shoulder pain. When any of these symptoms appear they inevitably lead to decreased visual efficiency and an increase in typing errors.

Think about the following:

Stand up Straight

Naturally, the simplest way to improve is to consciously stand — and sit — straight. Start by pulling your shoulders back and then do the following: Pull in your stomach — think about the top of your head reaching towards the ceiling. Keep earlobes in line with shoulders. Imagine you’re pulling your belly button in toward your spine, too.

Sit Properly

Whether at a computer or sitting at a table, your feet should rest on the floor or a footrest. The backrest of your chair should support your low- and mid-back. If not, add additional back support like a lumbar pillow.

When sitting, you should do your best to not slouch or twist your body over an extended period of time. This may include bending over to look at a computer, holding your face or chin in your  hand, twisting your body to look at something else for an extended period of time, or sitting low in your seat with your buttocks at the edge of the chair rather than at the back. Our muscles easily get tired of being inactive, but feeling restless may mean that you just need to adjust your body into a different position. When standing, avoid slouching over with your head and neck bent down and your shoulders hunched. Putting your hands in your pockets often results in bad posture without you realizing it. Keep your head and neck up, your back in a comfortable, slightly curved position, and your knees slightly bent.

Posture is about more than sitting and standing. It’s also about transitioning between them properly. For instance, when lifting heavy objects like boxes, use the strength and support of your legs rather than relying on your back to straighten you up. Also, if you’re standing up from a chair, try using the movement of your hips and legs rather than your back.

A few more tips to keep your posture upright and comfortable:

• Ankles should be in front of the knees
• Don’t cross your legs
• Keep a small gap between the front of the chair and the back of the knees
• Keep knees at or below the level of your hips
• Forearms should be parallel to the ground
• Keep your shoulders relaxed
• Consider switching between a sitting and kneeling chair, if possible

POSTURE EXERCISES

There are many exercises that can be done to stay active. In some cases, simple stretching exercises can help, as can calisthenics (bodyweight exercises). Some of these include:

• Hip bridges (lying down with your knees up and your feet flat on the ground, and slowly raising and lowering your pelvis into and out of a straight line with your back and legs)
• Squats
• Hip flexor stretches
• Lunges
• Rolling your spine while lying on your back with a firm, rolling cushion.
• Raise and lower your arms up and down around your head (many yoga techniques use this exercise).

Our office has been providing safe, gentle and effective spinal care for thirty years. We have recently due to the large increase in hybrid work and many of our patients working from home added a virtual reality assessment to our practice. This allows us to take actual photos or patients home work stations and make specific corrections to help improve the work positions and posture. 

Contact Dr. David Pico at Pico Family Chiropractic Center NJ at 212-765-1333 for additional information and evaluation.