A friend and colleague of mine, Dr. Dan Kehres, once wrote, “Sitting is one of the unhealthiest activities one can do.” How so? The body isn’t designed to sit. It’s designed to move. As many office workers can relate, when we sit too much, unhealthy events begin to occur. The muscles underneath the back of your head start to get irritated causing tension headaches. Your chin starts to jut forward flattening your spinal curve, irritating joints, nerves and discs in your neck. The shoulders start to round forward causing shoulder and mid-back pain. The low back rounds forward irritating the muscles and increasing the stress on the lumbar discs and nerves.
Unfortunately, modern living is requiring us to sit more and more. How many hours do you sit per day; 8, 10, 12 or even 16? Fortunately, there are stretches and exercises you can do while sitting at the office or waiting at red lights. At AWC, we incorporate these into a program called “Chair Care.” Chair Care is a set of exercises designed to counter the effects of constant sitting. With Chair Care, you will learn exercises, such as “The Fonz” and “Head of the Cow.”
Healing Tip of the Week
Try this Chair Care exercise when you feel your low-back tightening. Make sure that the majority of your weight is supported by your arms. You can use the arm rests as well.
