Are you neglecting your back?
You are sitting, typing furiously to finish an article, a story, or blog. As you approach placing the last period in your writing, you feel a dull pain rising from your back. Ouch! Tightness, pain, and so much more have you wondering if you should sit back down or begin moving around. As a writer, how can you protect your back from pain?
The core, consisting of your abdominals, chest, and back, stabilize the body. Sitting for extended periods of time cause the hip flexors to be in constant contraction, and places stress on the lower back. While sitting at a desk, the majority of individuals also tend to practice poor posture. This is a recipe for disaster as the back muscles begin to weaken and are easily injured. In fact, the January 18, 2011, edition of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, stated that people who spend more than four hours per day in a sitting position are 125 per cent more likely to suffer from heart disease than those who spend less than two hours sitting.
The study of 4,512 adults in Scotland reveals that not even exercise can make up for too much time sitting. Those who exercise regularly but still spent significant amounts of time sitting face the same consequences as those who rarely exercise.
All is not lost. There are ways to protect your back. First, I recommend switching to a vertical work station if possible. Secondly, you can invest in an ergonomic chair to relieve stress placed on your spine. A lumbar cushion is also an option if you have a smaller budget. I also recommend the stretches and exercises found here. These are all easy to do and can be done without equipment or a gym. Finally, get out and move throughout the day. Take a walk during your lunch break, and make sure to get up every hour.
Now, how about we commence with those stretches?
