Sitting all day at work, school and often at home has become the prevalent posture in our society. Increasingly, all this sitting is being attributed to a host of health problems including back pain, neck pain, headaches, diabetes, obesity, cancer and cardiovascular problems. Indeed those who sit all day have higher mortality rates than those who don't. To counter all the sitting we do, exercise is vitally important. Almost any exercise will be beneficial to help counteract sitting. Walking, swimming, weight training and stretching will help. Some exercises can be more effective and efficient than others. Because time is often such a tight commodity, a good anti-sitting exercise should be able to be done in a short period of time. Then it can easily be done daily or better yet, for people who spend their day sitting, twice a day. I was reminded this past week of one exercise that is a fabulous antidote to all the sitting we do. That is a back stretch over an exercise ball. This short YouTube video demonstrates how easy it is to do.
I would like to add a few additional instructions for safety and maximizing the benefits.
Wear shoes or go with bare feet. Socks can be too slippery and dangerous if you lose your balance.
Only attempt this stretch if you can balance well on the ball while sitting. If you are new to working on an exercise ball, have someone spot you until you are comfortable using the ball.
Always move slowly and maintain complete control. If you are wobbling on the ball, return to sitting and begin the stretch over again.
When going from the sit to laying back on the ball, do a slight pelvic tuck to engage the abdominal muscles. This will increase stability.
Before raising the arms overhead, make sure the head is contacting the ball. Keep the head against the ball during the entire stretch. This will minimize the chance of neck injury.
Hold the stretch for 5 slow breaths. Breath into the abdomen rather than the chest.
Don't over stretch! The more often you do this stretch the further you will be able to stretch. Just be relaxed and let the weight of your arms provide the stretch.
When coming back up, again do a pelvic tuck and come up slowly. Keep the head on the ball until the arms are again along the body.
Repeat.
Regular chiropractic adjustments and massage therapy will help this stretch to be more effective.
I don't know about you, but it seems that things that are good for me are easily dropped. This ball stretch use to be a part of my regular routine and I've let it slip for months. Well I've put it back into practice this week. Even though I don't sit all day, working on patients all day still puts me into flexion and this stretch is a great antidote. If you sit a lot or spend time flexing forward this stretch is a simple and very effective antidote. It only takes a few minutes to do. Add it to your daily routine and you will appreciate how much better you will feel.
I've
heard stories of monks who would deliberately put a pebble in their
shoe so they would constantly be reminded of the suffering of Christ. A
pebble in one's shoe is certainly an irritation. The pebble is felt on
every step and the foot soon becomes irritated to the point that even
when resting the foot is sore. It becomes impossible to step properly on
that foot. Soon the knee, hip and low back become sore as the body
compensates for the foot that isn't working properly. Even the mind is
affected. Where does your mind go with every step you take? To the
pebble of course. You just can't wait for the opportunity to take your
shoe off and get rid of that pebble. The pebble doesn’t have to be very
big either. I can't imagine deliberately putting one in my shoe!
Even
though a pebble in your shoe is a small thing, it can affect your
entire body. There is another even smaller thing that can affect your
body. That is a vertebral subluxation. A vertebral subluxation is when
there is a loss of proper motion between the joints of the spine which
is accompanied by nerve dysfunction. There is usually associated
swelling and muscle spasms as well. Pain may or may not be present, but
there will be loss of function whereever the associated nerves travel.
A vertebral subluxation is such a small, subtle lesion that it takes a
great deal of training and practice to accurately detect it. Finding
and correcting vertebral subluxations is what chiropractors specialize
in.
Physical,
emotional or chemical stresses can all cause vertebral subluxations.
Once a vertebral subluxation is present it is much like a pebble in a
shoe. It is a constant irritation to the body. Even though no pain
may be present when the subluxation first occurs, the longer it exists
the more severe the associated problems will be. Initially there may
only be stiffness. Later muscles will spasm. Pain may occur early in
the process or may never be part of the symptoms. Common symptoms
include back pain, neck pain, headaches, pain in the arms or legs,
numbness, tingling, and weakness. Even the internal organs can be
affected when the nerves going to them are not functioning properly.
Chiropractors
are specially trained in the detection and correction of vertebral
subluxations. The only solution for a pebble in a shoe is to remove the
pebble. The only solution for a vertebral subluxation is to restore
normal spinal joint and nerve function with specific chiropractic
adjustments.
One of my sons has a t-shirt that says, "Obey gravity - It's the law". Gravity is a force that is constantly pulling on our bodies. In order to walk up right we are literally fighting gravity. To be successful we need to have both good balance and good posture. If we don't we will be prone to muscle and joint problems, falls, nervous system problems and stress on all our body systems. Balance and posture play a big role in our health.
Fortunately there are a couple of simple exercises that can help improve a person's balance and posture. These exercises can be performed by anyone regardless of age.
The most basic balance exercise is the One Leg Stand.
The One Leg Stand should be done three times every day. Note that if you are very unbalanced or have vertigo, have someone with you to make sure you don't fall. If you have hip or joint problems, only bend the joint as far as you comfortably can. Posture problems are the first things to happen when gravity starts to get the best of us. The basic posture exercise is the Wall Pelvic Tilt.
Wall Pelvic Tilts should be performed twice daily.
When doing either of these exercises it's important to get your form as perfect as you can. To get the most benefit focus and concentrate on the muscles and movements. Most people notice very rapid improvements in their balance and posture when they do these two simple exercises regularly. They are a great way to counteract the negative effects gravity has on the human body.
