What happens when you sit for long periods in front of a desk?

How does that position affect your muscles and cause discomfort?

What can I do TODAY to counter those effects and start feeling better?

Upper Spine Hurts From…

Forward Head Position – you slowly lean forward towards the screen.

WHAT HURTS…

Overactive SCM(sternocleidomastoid) – the pretty long muscle you can see when you turn your head.

AND

Stressed Traps(particularly upper and mid trapezius muscles) – the connection between neck and shoulder, where people say they hold their stress and between the shoulder blades.

AND

Neck Pain by means of lost cervical curvature, occiput tension, possible disc bulge, and herniation.

None of this is fun! SO LET’S FIX IT!!

Start with adjusting the height of your computer screen, taking frequent breaks, and doing these shoulder boxes frequently to check your posture and realign to a more proper position.

Lower Spine Hurts From…

Overly Short and Weak Hip Flexors – Sitting places your hips in a flexed position with vulnerable muscles like the low back in a prolonged stretched out position and the accompanying muscles of the glutes underactive and sometimes unresponsive by being also stretched and squished.

It’s also important to recognize that a short muscle does not mean it’s a strong one, it means it’s not elastic like healthy muscles should be with easy ability to contract and stretch equally in both directions.

AND

Underactive and Unresponsive Glutes – the muscles of the glutes no longer fire properly, therefore, causing the low back to compensate, leading to injury.

AND

Weak Core – people that sit for long periods are commonly known to have a weak core because it’s normally not a conscious thought to keep them engages while sitting.

AND

Sciatica and Sciatic-like Symptoms – is caused by compression on the nerve at the spine which often originates from a weak core because the muscles are not stabilizing the spine, they’re more just existing in a fixed stacked position. Sciatic-like symptoms however occur when the glutes have been squished so much that they start putting pressure onto the sciatic nerve, giving all the same symptoms of sciatica but without actually being sciatica.

None of this is fun SO LET’S FIX IT!

Start with making sure your feet are flat on the floor, propping your feet up and/or behind you increased all symptoms listed above!

Take frequent breaks where you reestablish blood flow to the glutes, you may even squeeze and activate your glutes from a standing position to get them firing again. And be sure to keep your core engaged even while sitting to help support your spine.