How long have you been sitting for??

April 10, 2016 Charlotte Gerner

By Charlotte Gerner

April 10, 2016 In Healthy Tips

Are you slumped right now? Feel stiff like an older person when you stand up?

29% of people surveyed in the Medibank-Health of Australian Workers Report(2005) had back, neck or spinal problems. Sitting and being in a bad posture for too long can:

Increase postural neck pain
Increase postural back pain
Increase occurence of headaches

Your muscles adapt to the shortest length that they are in during prolonged postures and repetitive movements. Therefore sitting too long in a bad posture can tighten your chest, top shoulders, neck extensor and hip flexor muscles and weaken/lengthen your lower shoulder, back and hamstring mucsles.

These changes in muscle length and strength, will change your biomechanics and then changes the stress on different joints/muscles/tendons in your body and can cause you to get sore and injured!

Here are some tips to help you feel better, move better and perform better:

Set yourself up. Set your chair and desk correctly for you, check out our post on how to set up your workspace.
Take regular stretch breaks. Stand up and stretch every 30 minutes while sitting to counteract prolonged sitting and slouched postures. Tip: set an alarm on Outlook/Phone so you remember.
Stretch out the chest. To reverse the hunched position of sitting, stretch out the chest muscles by reaching your arms out wide (such as through a doorway) for one minute every day.
Extend the spine. Arch backwards to stretch out the spine for one minute every day. A good way to do this is by arching back over your chair.
Glass instead of bottle. Use glass to drink water from instead of a bottle, that way when you need to refill you have to get up and fill your glass.
Stretch at the copier. When siting for long long your qudriceps and hip flexors get tight, to counteract this stand and stretch your quads/hip flexors, whilst standing and doing the copying.
Take a Smoko/Air Break. Did you know smokers are actually quite efficient workers as they have breaks, so they are able to focus when they are on task. So don’t take up smoking! But why not pop outside for a freah air break to revive yourself and get re-focused.
Walk instead of Email. Instead of emailing a colleague, why not get up and walk over to them, up a level or 2, will mean you are able to include some walking into your day
Massage your Shoulders. At home or work, use a spikey ball or roller to massage out any sore spots, neck, shoulders, back or butt, it can all do with some release work. Also these massage devices mean you can do it yourself anytime, you don’t have to book in to see someone or convince a loved one!
Mindful! So every time you stand up and move, you then have to sit back down again, take the time to be mindful about your posture every time you sit back down, so you ensure you are set up right and you will be feeling, moving and perform better in no time!