How Sitting Too Much Is Horrible For Your Back
Yes, incase you didn’t know, sitting is a sin to your health and wreaks havoc on your back.
While you are sitting in your office cubicle doing work and every now and then sneaking a peak at your twitter feed or the latest celebrity gossip like how Norwegian schools had to cancel class for a Justin Bieber concert…your muscles are getting tight and your back is suffering.
Your back is already screaming in agony from being in a bad posture. Weight is more evenly distributed in your back when your spine is in an ‘S’ shape. If you are hunched over or constantly reclining back, your back is being punished by the uneven distribution of forces.
There are 2 particular muscles I’d like to address that get tight from sitting too much in our everyday lives that play a large role in back pain, the hamstrings and the iliopsoas.
The Role Of The Hamstrings And Iliopsoas In Causing Back Pain
The hamstrings and iliopsoas both are shortened as you sit all day. The iliopsoas originates from your lower spine and pelvis and attaches to the upper part of your leg. Its function is to lift your leg up towards you. Hamstrings originate from what is called your ‘Sits’ bones on your butt and come down and attach to your lower leg just below your knee joint.
When your hamstrings are tight, your pelvis tends to get pulled backwards and have you slump back in your chair. When your iliopsoas gets tight, your pelvis tends to get pulled forward, as well as your spine. So think of a tug of war going on, as one of these muscles gets tight, the other one fights back and tightens as well!
Think of the effects this has on your pelvis. These tight muscles are negatively impacting the motion of your pelvis, which is having an effect on the motion of your spine. Picture a tight iliopsoas constantly and relentlessly pulling your spine forward if you don’t stretch it. If you don’t fix the problem of these tight muscles, soon regional muscles are going to start to be affected and your whole back is thrown into writhing pain and spasms.
So if you don’t want constant back pain and spasms to be within your future, remember to stretch your hamstrings and iliopsoas and to not sit for extended periods of time! You can also fight many other detrimental effects of sitting too long, like higher risks of cancer, obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
So in conclusion, sitting is laying the smack-down on your back! Our bodies were made to move, so MOVE MORE! And STRETCH, unless the idea of constantly going to a massage therapist or a doctor giving you prolotherapy injections in your back sounds appealing to you, which I’m sure it doesn’t! So take your health into your own hands and start fixing yourself for the better!