Effects of Sitting Combatted by Baton Rouge Exercise and Not Sitting!

“Sitting. It’s the new smoking.” You’ve heard this claim. Spine & Sports Rehab Center sees the effects of sitting in our Baton Rouge chiropractic practice in the form of back pain, neck pain and related issues. Let us look at sitting and being sedentary workers and what we can do about it.

SITTING COMPARISON TO SMOKING

Is the sitting and smoking a little glaring? Maybe. One medical report stated that 300 news articles cite this claim! (1) Glaring or not, it does draw attention to the concern that sitting a lot isn’t healthy for anyone. 25% of adults including Baton Rouge chiropractic patients and adults sit more than 8 hours a day. Older adults supposedly sit even more. (2) Spine & Sports Rehab Center realizes we all sit. We are not shaming you! We’re with you!

THE STATE OF NSCLBP in SEDENTARY WORKERS

Sitting is what we do. Researchers tell us that low back pain sufferers’ activity levels are low. Of 300 patients, 32.5% live sedentary lives, 48.5% live underactive lifestyles, and 68.3% of them didn’t do any activity to increase muscle strength or flexibility. (3) Continued sitting posed a risk for all-cause mortality unrelated to physical activity even if it is of moderate to vigorous effort. The best suggestion is to reduce sitting time not just increase physical activity levels. (4) Spine & Sports Rehab Center supports both, too!

WHAT CAN WE DO? EXERCISE (AND A BONUS: RESPIRATION IMPROVEMENT)

One author opined the conundrum of the “exercise to buffer sitting’s effect” implication as an “inconvenient truth”: a few weekly visits to the gym can’t really erase a lifetime of sitting. He also contended that fixing the sitting issue by standing has its own problems (beyond its being uncomfortable!) like varicose veins and foot pain. (5) So what then, especially for low back pain sufferers? Dynamic strengthening exercises – those that focus on core and global stabilization as well as endurance in stabilizing musculature – displayed better improvement in pain relief and better function especially in the lumbar multifidus and transversus abdominus which are 2 muscles that low back pain bothers. (6) More specifically, a 20-week lumbar stabilization exercise and muscle strengthening exercise program reduced low back pain and functional disability in sedentary workers. A lumbar stabilization exercise program proved more helpful and persisted for 12 weeks. (7) An advantage to lumbar segmental stabilization exercise is that it activated the deep muscles and boosted respiratory function and pressure in chronic low back pain patient who experienced segmental instability. (8) Respiration is a big deal! Another study showed that forced breathing exercise therapy effectively enhanced trunk stability and daily living activities in chronic low back pain patients, especially for those with chronic lumbago in whom these exercises decreased pain. (9) Exercise works! It is not everything for us sedentary folks, but exercise is a part of the solution.

CONTACT Spine & Sports Rehab Center

Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Shawn Nelson on The Back Doctors Podcast about The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management’s role in back pain management to help a runner re-gain his stride despite his facet syndrome back pain condition that irritates us sitting folks.

Schedule you Baton Rouge chiropractic appointment with Spine & Sports Rehab Center today. If “sitting is the new smoking” issue describes you and back pain complicates it, Baton Rouge chiropractic care is for you…together with trying not to sit that much and exercising a little more!

 
Spine & Sports Rehab Center urges less sitting and more exercising to combat back pain and other pain issues. 
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"This information and website content is not intended to diagnose, guarantee results, or recommend specific treatment or activity. It is designed to educate and inform only. Please consult your physician for a thorough examination leading to a diagnosis and well-planned treatment strategy. See more details on the DISCLAIMER page. Content is reviewed by Dr. James M. Cox I."