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the dangers of sitting

a look at the toll that sedentary lives take on our body.

by nicholas sokic

may 15 2020

5 minute read

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most of us have heard the expression, “sitting is the new smoking,” coined by james levine , the former director of arizona state university’s obesity solutions institute. now though, with the general confines of quarantine, nowhere to go and the nature of working from home, we don’t have much else to do but sit.

the results often aren’t great. meagan bennink, a physiotherapist and ontario’s regional manager of cbi health , says that her clinic has seen more patients with conditions related to increased sitting, which before would have mostly just been those with sedentary jobs. that includes things like tension headaches, jaw pain, disc pathologies in the neck and lower back, tennis elbow as well as tension and impingement in the hips.

the jaw pain comes from our tendency to lean forward when sitting, particularly in front of a screen, which can then place stress on jaw joints.

like any most other medical needs, its a lot harder to have your issues addressed in a pandemic. so the question then becomes, how can we mitigate these problems at home on our own?

advice and exercise

there are a few ways we can offset the dangers that come from our motionless days.

“first thing would be donâ€™t change your routine,” says bennink. “something i tell a lot of my patients is pretend you still have a commute to work and take a 15 minute walk before you go sit at your desk. it doesnâ€™t even have to be outside. and then do the same when you’re done your day. it’s good not only for getting the blood flowing but also switching mindsets from work to home.”

you can also fill up your water bottle more, as getting up to go to the bathroom every hour or so will also help blood flow. or you could spend a few minutes sitting on an unstable surface like a ball. the biggest thing though is changing your positions multiple times a day. even with the most ergonomic of chairs, it’s just not good for your body to be in the same position eight hours a day.

there’s also plenty of exercises you can do just from your chair to help mitigate many of the problems that may rise when you don’t. “essentially what you’re trying to do is opposite to where you are positionally,” says bennink.

a big one is the brugger exercise, which involves looking up towards the ceiling, bringing your shoulder blades back, and opening up through your chest bringing your arms back and out. bennink recommends this one for 60 seconds every hour.

then there is chin tucking, which can help prevent tension headaches. it’s where you basically try to create a double chin. seated neck stretches that could be as simple as looking down toward each armpit, are also great for your neck.

for your mid-back, there’s the thoracic extension over the back of the chair with your arms above your shoulders. the key here is to not let your neck fall back.

the other big problem bennink sees in patients is in their hips and glutes, so she recommends pelvic tilting. these are probably better on an exercise ball, but can also be done in your chair. as well, if your chair doesn’t have armrests, you can do seated hip extension lunges over the side. with your knee down towards the floor, squeeze your glutes. “itâ€™s a good way to open the hip from being in a flex position for so long.”

if you’ve got a break in your day, there’s also plenty of quick exercises you can do while standing. the wall angel involves standing flat against the wall and raising your arms while trying to push your elbows and shoulders together. similarly, the pectoralis stretch can be done in a doorway, as you push out against the frame.

the cat-camel is a position where you’re on your hands and knees and you sink your back towards the floor while lifting your head, mimicking a cat. the camel is the opposite, arching your spine to simulate a camel hump.

generally, any core strengthening exercises like planking will help alleviate your sitting issues. your glutes are active any time you’re on one leg, so that simple act will help as well. calf raises can be done seated or standing and are a good tool for increasing blood flow.

even those that are relatively active have faced their own challenges. cyclists have seen their own problems as they sit all day and then sit some more on their bikes, albeit more aggressively. bennink, who is also a triathlete, simply suggests running or walking on weekdays and then cycling on weekends, where you have opportunities to be on your feet more.

those that were active before join the rest of us in being mostly inactive now, even if they keep up their routines.

“the impact of switching that up dramatically and switching up what you’re doing during the day has been enough to cause a lot of injuries,” says bennink. “weâ€™re finding a lot of newfound runners. some people think they can translate lifting weights at the gym three times a week to running 10 km three times a week, obviously lots of issues there.”

adapting to telehealth

like other healthcare providers, bennink has largely adopted virtual care as a way to still help her patients, which is all the more important given the unique issues we’re facing as our work and home lives have merged.

on the physio end, the telehealth transition will likely be here to stay even once restrictions have lifted and the clinic can reopen. physiotherapists are able to do most everything they would in person, except, obviously, some of the hands-on portions. still, they can guide patients through strength tests and soft tissue massage techniques. sometimes, they’ll have them use props like a rolling pin or a tennis ball.

“those are things to help facilitate the feeling of human hands,” says bennink. “of course it’s not the same, we know thereâ€™s a lot of value to the human touch but it’s still a good technique.”

in a speed run version of a typical telehealth appointment, bennink asked me to run through a range of neck motions to figure out my own neck and shoulder pain. in about ten minutes, she told me my levator scapula, the skeletal muscle at the back and side of the neck, had become very sore from overuse. in another ten minutes, i was sent on my way with several of the aforementioned exercises to help. like with any exercises, consistency is key.

“i always tell patients thereâ€™s bonus points if you do these throughout your day and not just when they finish,” says bennink.

nsokic@postmedia.com | @sokic_

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the dangers of sitting

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