I think all of you already know that sitting for long hours is really not good.
But I want to ask you a Question, do you really think sitting is that dangerous? No, it’s not, the danger is in its dose, the amount of sitting.
Human body was never created to live a sedentary lifestyle. It was created to move. The ancient man used to climb, jump and run long distances to reach out to their food.
Modern man has an access to all kinds of machine and technology to do our work. Our days involve hours of sitting at work, in the cars. Our desk job, if it involves any muscle at all, it's our butt but that too for sitting. Sitting for too long puts a lot of risks to our health.
It causes chronic diseases and early ageing. Let’s talk about them in a little detail.
Leg disorder:
Leg pain can have various cause but if your pain comes after prolonged sitting, it can be due to poor circulation in your legs, which is a result of sitting cross legged for too long, pressure from the seat, short legs which are not supported on the floor. Also, because you are immobile, the blood starts to pool in your legs. Your calf is your second heart, so if you don’t move, calf does not pump and leads to Swelling in feet, ankle Pain, cramping or stiff legs. It can also lead to varicose vein which is bluish vessels visible on the legs.
Weak bones:
Our bones get strong and absorb calcium if we load them. Less of loading leads to les calcium absorption and weak bones. We otherwise don’t go out in sun these days. So, to have a stronger bone also its utmost important to move.
Low back pain:
Extended periods of sitting makes your hip flexors, the muscle in front of your hip tight. And even when you stand, it does not lengthen enough and pulls the pelvis forward. Our abs gets mushy and toneless. Back muscles remain stretched all the time. It puts too much strain on the lower back and leads to backpain.
Digestion
Most of us are generally so busy at work that we get up, quickly grab our food, come back and sit again.
Sitting down after you've eaten causes your abdominal contents to compress, slowing down digestion. Sluggish digestion, in turn, can lead to cramping, bloating, heartburn, and constipation.
Diabetes:
Just one day of excess sitting affects your body’s ability to produce Insulin. When you sit for long, you don’t use the sugar you consumed and in return body produces more insulin to balance it out the excess sugar. And if this happens on a regular basis, the chances of getting diabetes Increases
Heart:
How many of us would have people in our families or friends who have got high blood pressure or have already undergone heart surgeries.
When we move less, we burn less fat and this extra fat goes and gets clogged around our vessels and heart and significantly increases the chances of heart diseases.
Neck and Shoulder pains:
We don’t realize that over time, if the shoulders remain in front of the body, it causes unnatural strain on small important shoulder muscles. If you are in a slouched posture, over time the pectoralis muscles shorten, thus keeping the shoulder rounded all the time, even when you’re not at the desk.
If you also cradle the phone by tilting your head, you strain the neck muscles further more.
Foggy Brain:
Because your body is sedentary for too long, your brain does not get fresh blood and enough oxygen, you feel slow, tired, bored and confused. Some activity is required to generate and release the mood enhancing chemicals.
Obesity:
When you sit for long sitting at your desk, in the cars, in front of tv at home. Your body metabolisms slow down and makes it easier for the fat to get deposited and you gain weight.
Therefore, if you have a desk job which requires you to sit in a single position for long periods of time, I think you should consider allowing a physiotherapist or doctor to evaluate your posture. You never know how it may be impacting your life.
Come to our Physiotherapy clinic in Niti Bagh, Delhi for a chat with one of our expert physiotherapist to plan the right Physiotherapy treatment for you to get rid of pain in no time.