A must-read for those who sit for long periods of time! Come and see if you are "sitting" correctly?

In modern life

Sitting is a posture we are accustomed to.

Sitting at work, driving

Sit while watching TV series or videos, sit while browsing your phone

Sit when working or studying, and also sit when having fun or relaxing.

Whether it is office workers or students

We are used to sitting for a long time.

Image source: Gaoding Design

But do you know that when you think you are sitting comfortably, your body muscles will need to use more strength to maintain body balance due to poor sitting posture, which will cause some muscles to become tight and stiff, while others will be suppressed and relaxed. In the long run, the unbalanced muscle force caused by poor sitting posture will cause more damage to joints and ligaments.

How bad sitting posture affects your health

People who sit for long periods of time with their heads bent over their desks, have poor postures, and lack exercise, are very likely to experience soreness, stiffness, and pain in the lumbar joints, hip joints, shoulder and neck joints, and sometimes accompanied by clicking and crackling noises. The frequency of attacks is relatively high and the duration is relatively long. Nearly 50% of patients experience such symptoms 6 or more times a year, and each attack lasts from 2 days to half a month, which has a great impact on their lives and work.

Image source: Gaoding Design

If the sitting posture is not corrected in time, the pain will gradually worsen, and then induce cervical spondylosis, periarthritis of shoulder, lumbar disc herniation, lumbar muscle strain and other diseases. If the disease is not cured repeatedly or is serious, it will also lead to bone hyperplasia, bone spurs, sciatica, and even paralysis in severe cases.

Common bad sitting postures in life

Let's correct our sitting posture.

First, find the sitting bones. Find a hard chair to sit on, and use your hands to find the area just below your buttocks from the sides of your body. There is a hard bone on each side. These two bones are called sitting bones, which are the lowest part of the pelvis. Let the sitting bones become the focus of the upper body's strength and transfer gravity downward. Common bad sitting postures often put more pressure on the coccyx.

Second, find the neutral position of the pelvis. That is, keep the spine neutral, do not lean forward or backward, and do not tilt left or right.

Third, relax your shoulders naturally and don't shrug them. Your elbows can hang naturally on the armrests of the chair or on the table to reduce the tension on the thoracic spine.

Fourth, naturally raise your head and tuck your chin in. When you need to lower your head for work or study, be aware that simply stretching your head out will cause you to stretch your neck and increase the pressure on your cervical spine. We can move our head and chest forward to get closer to the computer or documents, and we can also tuck our chin in to move our line of sight downward.

Finally, pay attention to the posture of your legs, with your thighs and calves at 90 degrees. Both feet should be placed flat on the ground, not just on the toes or heels, and not turned outward or inward.

It’s OK to “sit”, but don’t sit for too long

I would also like to remind you that even if you sit in the right posture, you should avoid sitting for long periods of time. If you sit for an hour, get up and move around, do some stretching exercises.

Here are some simple exercises that you can do in the office or at home. Keep each movement for 10 to 15 seconds, within the range that your body can withstand, and don't use too much force too quickly or too hard.

0 1

Neck and shoulder stretching exercises

① Turn your neck: Slowly rotate your neck left and right, and then slowly move it up and down.

②Shrug: Raise your shoulders diagonally upwards, then make a circle and lower them diagonally downwards.

③Truncate the trunk and stretch sideways: Raise your arms toward the ceiling, then slowly rotate your upper body to the left and right. Then face forward and slowly bend to the left and right.

④ Gentle backbend: Place your hands on the lower back and then slowly and gently bend your spine backward.

0 2

Chest and back stretching exercises

① Knee-chest stretch: Sit on a chair, gently hold one knee with both hands, pull it towards the chest and hold it.

② Waist stretch: Sit on a chair, bend your body forward slightly, place your hands on the floor between your knees, and hold them there.

③ Piriformis Seated Stretch: Sit on a chair and place your right foot on your left knee. Then pull your right knee toward your left shoulder and hold it there. Repeat on the other side.

④ Standing low waist stretch: Stand, put your hands on the table or chair, and slowly bend backward.

03

Shoulder stretch

① Front thigh stretch: Stand, place your right foot on a chair behind you, bend your right knee to feel the pull on the front of your thigh. Repeat on the left side.

②Stand on raised toes: Stand, raise your toes, hold for a moment, then lower them. Repeat on the other side.

③ Squat: Squat down to a comfortable position. Hold for a while, then stand up.

Tips:

When it is inconvenient to exercise, try to stand up as much as possible. Even if it is just a few steps or a glass of water, it can relieve muscle tension.

Health starts with small things. Healthy muscles and bones start with learning to sit correctly.