Is slouching that bad for you? – part 4
In previous blog posts I have explored the following reasons for not slouching
So finally I would like to focus on how slouching affects your breathing.
You’ll notice that people don’t sigh when they sit slumped — they have to sit up to take a deep breath,’ observes Professor Stephen Spiro of the British Lung Foundation.
‘That’s because the lungs work best when we’re vertical. If you’re slumped forward you don’t fully breathe and ventilate the lungs, because they’re compressed and the diaphragm is coming up into the chest — so you won’t breathe as easily and efficiently.’
This can cause particular breathing problems for anyone with asthma or lung disease.
‘If you’re an asthmatic you probably don’t have bad posture because people are quite clever at correcting themselves,’ says Professor Spiro.
Physiotherapist Sammy Margo adds that slumping can mean less oxygen gets to the brain.
‘Slumped or C-shaped people complain of being tired and fatigued all the time and it’s because the lungs are squashed and cannot get enough air in, and the brain needs plenty of oxygen to function at its best.’
In addition, if you slumped you are breath with be short and shallow from your upper chest. In order to relax and digest food your body needs the parasympathetic nervous system to be dominant. A quick way to do this is to sit up right and take deep breaths and this simulates the parasympathetic system. So slumping may be contributing to you feeling anxious and finding it hard to relax and switch off when you leave work!
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More on building your resiliance
Following on from last week’s entry on building resilience, it is important to state that resilience don’t just help you manage stress but it fosters inner strength to help you meet goals, life challenges and achieve success. Most of my clients hold more or less physical tension which I would like you to think of as a bad habit that relaxation will help you break. Relaxation is like changing the idling speed on a car. When a car turns over too quickly, wasting expensive fuel and putting a strain on the engine, the mechanic can reset the idling speed to a much lower level. Similarly when busyness, concerns, time pressure have speeded us up too much, making us tense and irritable, we can learn how to let go and attain a much calmer state of being. So taking the time to learn what relaxes you! It is worth re-emphasising the point that it is possible to make an enormous difference to your state of mind through yoga, tai chi, relaxation and meditation and all other sorts of physical exercise. While most of celebrate our wins, it is also important to celebrate when we do good for others, as often other’s don’t notice. We all know life has its ups and downs, when your life is in turmoil, you may not do things "perfectly". Rather than worrying or simply surviving turmoil, why not ask what you can learn from the situation. But don’t beat yourself up, remember you always do your best, when you know better, you do better! One habit that I try to cultivate to help put a smile on my face especially when I am feeling down is to cultivate a gratitude attitude. However bad my day goes, before I got to sleep I try to think of three things that I am grateful for. These don’t need to be big things; it can be as simple as “I am grateful that the transport system ran on time” as I had a busy day. A gratitude attitude helps foster joy, fulfilment & peace of mind.
Stretches to Help Lower Back Pain
If you remember last week, I shared some tips on how to prevent lower back pain. These tips were inspired by me straining one of my lower back muscles while on holiday in Bulgaria. I stated last week that it was sorted out by a combination of massage, stretches and back exercises. So this week I want to share the three simple stretches I used to ease my back. 1. Knees to Chest
For the first day this is the only stretch I did. You lie on your back, with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Put your hands behind your knees and gently bring your knees towards your chest. I held this stretch for about 2 minutes and did it 3 - 4 times a day.
2. Two - knee - twist
Lying on your back, bend your knees into your chest and bring your arms out at a T. As you exhale lower your knees to ground on the right. Keep both shoulders pressing down firmly. If the left shoulder lifts, lower your knees further away from the right arm. Hold for 1-2 minutes each side. Again I repeated this stretch 3 - 4 times a day.
3. Thread the Needle
Lying on your back, bend both knees with the feet flat on the ground. Bend the right knee like a figure four, with the outer left ankle to the right thigh. Lift the left foot into the air, bringing the left calf parallel to the ground. Thread your right hand between the opening of the legs and interlace your hands behind your left thigh. Hold 2-3 minutes and then repeat on the other side. Again I repeated this stretch 3 - 4 times a day.Running & Running Injuries
In the UK around 10.5 million people run or jog as a leisure activity and or fitness activity. Running injuries are common and may variables can contribute. Running injuries can happen to both experienced and inexperienced runners - up to 79% of runners with get injured in any one year. Most running injuries occur in the lower extremities as you would expect. With the knee being the most common injured site followed by the lower leg, foot and upper leg. The top five injuries are:
- Patellofemoral pain - generic term for describe pain at the front and around the knee cap.
- Illiotibial band (ITB) syndrome - pain on the outside of the knee.
- Tibial stress fractures/syndrome - fatigue induced stress fracture.
- Plantar fasciitis - pain in the heel or bottom of the foot.
- Achilles tendonitis - pain, swelling and stiffness of the achilles tendon.
