Smoking has received some of the worst press in history regarding the dangers and risks it imposes on people’s health, and rightly so. But another ‘habit’ actually is nearly equally as bad, however, EVERYONE does it – EVERY DAY! In fact, you are probably doing it right now! The habit I speak of is SITTING! Check out the statistics below regarding risks of sitting:
- 50% increase risk of death from all causes. (Source article)
- 125% increased events associated with Cardiovascular disease such as heart attack or angina (chest pain). (Source article)
- Increased speed of aging by damaging your DNA. (Source article)
Another physical stress issue in today’s society is technology and the posture people adopt to use it. In the article OMG, you’re texting your way to back pain, Dr. Kenneth Hansra, Chief of Spine Surgery at New York Spine Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine, tells us that “[t]he average adult head weighs 10 to 12 pounds when it’s in the upright or neutral position. However, because of that pesky thing called physics — gravitational pull — the cranium becomes heavier the more you bend your neck. Several times heavier.” His study found that bending your head at a sixty-degree angle to get a better look at your selfie, is putting sixty pounds’ worth of pressure on your cervical spine (that is, the portion of the spine above your shoulders). That’s more than the weight of the average seven-year-old. These stresses may lead to early wear, tear, degeneration and possibly surgeries. (Source article) This also leads to the development of ‘the hump’ as myself and others refer to it. Which will make you look like Lurch if you are a man. And ladies, as my late friend and mentor Dr. Barry Anderson put it, “[i]f you don’t want to live in a bell tower and be used as a coat rack, you better pay attention to this!”
So what is the solution? Too many to cover in this short email for sure, but one would be to schedule a Go! Program event on the topic of posture and sitting! Click the link to the right (or below if you are on a mobile device) and schedule your brief introductory call with one of our team members! We look forward to serving you!
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