2 minute read
Purge Spinal Pain from Your Career
by Expert Contributor Marc Belitsky, D.C., D.A.C.R.B., Owner of Broomall Total Health Center
For over a year, many people have been working from their home “office” in an environment that’s not ergonomically designed for sitting at a computer. With so much time spent in our virtual world, our bodies — especially our necks and backs — are suffering from real-world diseases such as migraine headaches and chronic pain due to the habitual bad postures we hold while using our electronic devices for so many hours each day.
Years ago, the unhealthiest people were often those who had careers that required hard, repetitive physical labor, or traveling long distances in a low sitting position in an auto or truck. Those job requirements were usually the largest contributors to poor health, more so than auto accidents, as might be expected.
The digital age now rules many careers, and our time sitting in poor postures has more than tripled. This has caused an increase in health problems ranging from neck pain, back pain, headaches, carpal tunnel syndrome and sciatica to the onset of many disease processes including obesity. For many people, it unfortunately takes being diagnosed with a life-threatening disease or being inconvenienced by acute symptoms before they realize that’s their body’s way of saying, “To return to full health, you must make some changes!”
A study in The American Journal of Epidemiology reported that sitting for long stretches (more than six hours a day) can make someone at least 18% more likely to die from diabetes, heart disease or obesity compared to people who sit less than three hours a day. And a study done by Physiologist Marc Hamilton discovered that when lab mice were prevented from standing up, an enzyme that burns fat got turned off, which led to the mice gaining weight.
Computers, cell phones and our virtual world are obviously here to stay. To reduce the pain and stop the degenerative physical changes caused by using those devices so much, “unplug yourself” for a while every day. Prioritize creating a healthy lifestyle by making some or all of these recommended behavioral changes:
1. Get a standing desk and/or an ergonomically designed chair.
2. Attach a separate monitor, keyboard and mouse to your laptop.
3. Take regular breaks. Get up every 30-60 minutes, to stretch for 30-60 seconds.
4. After your evening meal, don’t immediately go and sit or lounge on the sofa or in a recliner. Instead, stand, stretch or walk for 10 minutes or more.
5. Get regular exercise.
6. Get regular chiropractic adjustments, to keep your spine, neck, back, hips and legs properly aligned.
By making positive changes to your posture, you’ll experience many real-world — not virtual! — physical benefits including reduced pain and increased energy!
Expert Contributor Marc Belitsky, D.C., D.A.C.R.B., Owner of Broomall Total Health Center
BROOMALL TOTAL HEALTH CENTER
Providing Winning Health Solutions in Broomall for Over 30 Years!
610-353-2220
www.SpineDr.org
2633 West Chester Pike, Broomall
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