The Impact of Sitting All Day – Part 2
In part 1, I looked at the impact of sitting on your muscles, but what happens in the rest of your body?
Leg Disorders
We are all familiar with the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) if we take long flights. This is because sitting for long periods of time slows blood circulation, which causes fluid to pool in legs. This creates problems ranging from swollen ankles, varicose beings to dangerous blood clots.
Soft Bones
Osteoporosis is a disease marked by reduced bone strength leading to an increased risk of fractures, or broken bones. Bone strength has two main features: bone mass (amount of bone) and bone quality. Osteoporosis is often called a “silent disease” because it usually progresses without any symptoms until a fracture occurs or one or more vertebrae (bones in the spine) collapse. Weight-bearing activities such as walking and running stimulate hip and lower-body bones to grow thicker, denser and stronger. Medical researchers partially attribute the recent surge in cases of osteoporosis to lack of activity.
Garrett, Brasure et al, 2004, Physical Inactivity Direct Cost To A Health Plan, American Journal of Preventative Medicine; Vol 27 No 4, Pages 304–309 See http://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797%2804%2900191-6/abstract?cc=y
Weight Gain
As the body slows down while in a resting and seated positions, the metabolism naturally slows down. Calories are burned at a far lower rate, when you sit, you burn only about one calorie a minute!. For some people this can lead to weight gain becoming an issues. Being overweight is a known risk factor for many common chronic conditions including
- diabetes
- gallstones
- hypertension
- heart disease
- stroke
Field, Coakley et al, 2001 Impact of Overweight on the Risk of Developing Common Chronic Diseases During a 10 Year Period, JAMA Internal Medicine; Vol 161 No13, Pages 1581-1586. See http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=648604
Related Posts
Start eating prebiotics to reduce stress levels
When we are under pressure, stressed or anxious our bodies react, for some people this means they develop tension in the neck & shoulders, for others they get butterflies in their stomach or their digestive system becomes more sensitive. Stress messes with your they bacteria in your gut and creates a viscous circle that makes stress and anxiety attacks even worse. While we are all familiar with probiotics or good bacteria which you can buy in tablet form in health food shops or are added to yogurts. What you may be less familiar with are prebiotics which are the "food" for the good bacteria in your gut. Prebiotics can undo the impact stress has on the gut. They are found in plant fibers like
- raw chicory root
- raw Jerusalem artichoke
- raw garlic
- raw leeks
- raw asparagus
- raw and cooked onions
Can you eliminate the risk of a “preemie” baby?
The focus of all pregnant women is a happy, health, baby and that includes carrying the baby full term obviously if there is no risk to the mother's health. Women in the US and the rest of the developed world are typically low in DHA (omega-3), with levels well below those reported in countries like Japan where more fish is eaten. Women with low levels of the nutrient are much more likely to give birth prematurely. Until recently there was no effective method to prevent spontaneous early preterm birth. Analyses of two clinical trials -- one in the U.S. and the other in the Australia -- suggest that thousands of early preterm births -- those at or before 34 weeks' gestation -- could be prevented if pregnant women took daily omega-3 supplements. Taking the supplement can reduce the risk to just 1.5%. Researchers estimated that more than 106,000 high-risk early preterm births could be avoided in the U.S. and about 1,100 could be prevented in Australia each year if pregnant women took daily supplements of omega-3. Reference https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161013130104.htm
Is deep pressure in a massage ever bad?
One of the first things you learn as a massage therapist is that everyone wants deep pressure in massage. This is because no one wants a light fluffy massage because they feel there will be no benefit and they have wasted both their time and money. The second thing you learn as a massage is that everyone has their own idea what deep pressure is and what would be light pressure for one person is deep pressure for another person. Even if you take one client, the pressure they consider deep on their tight shoulders will be different from their idea of deep pressure on their legs. So there is no fixed concept of what deep pressure is, it varies from client to client, and with the same client it varies treatment to treatment and depending up on the part of their body your are treating. Given all this how do we work out pressure in clinic. First, we base it on our experience, your body type, the tension in the muscle we are working on. But most of all we talk to you about how the pressure feels to you and respect your preferences for pressure. I am sure most of you have heard me talk about good pain. Its based on a phenomenon that I have seen in clinic over the years. This is where someone comes into clinic in pain, we apply pressure and the pain turns into a good pain – because the pressure is a source of relief. For some people this “good pain” just feels right. This good pain is strong but welcome and came sometimes be described as a “sweet ache”. For some clients the good pain, is such a welcome relief that pain doesn’t even seem the right word. A word of warning, I like all my other therapists are only human and sometimes we get it wrong. This can be if we have missed a trigger point that is very sensitive, and we go into deep or the opposite can happen where a muscle locks up and we apply pressure and you as the client can’t feel anything. These situations can also arise due to change with your body i.e. an intense gym session or longer work hours than usual so lots of extra time sitting at your desk. I try to ask all my clients regularly without sounding like its some automated message, do you want the pressure deeper or lighter and if so let me know. I know the other therapists in clinic do this as well. In clinic we always want you to get the most out of your treatment. So please remember we always welcome feedback on pressure throughout your treatment.
