What I learned from sitting all day: 3 pieces of advice

As a physical therapist, I don’t sit much!  We have the flexibility in our day to continue to move positions and stretch ourselves when we show you stretching!

Basically, we consistently re-set for our lower back on a daily basis.

But recently, I went to an event that required me to just sit and stand for 10 hour shifts —- for 3 consecutive days!

Needless to say, I felt stiff and needed a self decompression.

It got me thinking more about how to help you all who have to sit or stand all day.

Here are my 3 pieces of advice:

1. Just standing helps but not the most effective approach.

   I was able to stand just as much as I was able to sit.  However, even though popular nowadays with stand-up desks, similar gravitational force is put upon the low back in standing as it does in sitting.  Just as our bodies were not meant to sit for 8 hour shifts, we are not made to just stand for 8 hour shifts either.

   Take home point: Use yoga or specific exercises that physical therapy has shown you to re-set consistently throughout the day.

2. I currently do not have back problems, so I was not highly impacted from a non-routine activity.

   Even though I put undue stress on my back (more inactivity) for several days, I did not hurt.  The body gives us signals and even though stiffness arose, pain did not.  There is a huge difference. Stiffness indicates a need for action and a proper action plan can resolve it quickly and effectively.  Pain is a higher order need for action and, depending on the intensity, resolution can be much slower and less effective leading to longer disability.

   Take home point: Listen to your body and take care of stiffness before it turns to pain.

3. Knowledge of self-decompression and immediate self-help strategies take away stiffness.

   Our goal with you all is to provide you treatments that help for chronic pain but also to give you strategies for acute pain.  Knowing how to listen to and treat your acute pain can lead to you to having more control, needing less medication, less disability, and less anxiety.

Take home point: Knowledge is king ,and knowing what works for you may be different than someone else.  

If you deal with low back problems and not have a consistent solution and game-plan, feel free to reach out to us.  This is our speciality as providers who do not prescribe drugs or perform surgery.  Our approaches go beyond “showing you a few stretches”, but find the ones that actually work for you and your body.

You do not need to suffer and make life miserable.  We want you to be able to go enjoy events and non-routine activities without setbacks!

You can learn more about our symmetry and balance method for the entire body by reading about our 6 Green Zones.

If this is something that can make your life better, feel free to contact us at 919-728-0335 or schedule online to get you back on track!