A New Pandemic: Sitting Too Much!

Maybe you've heard that someone recently said, "sitting is the new smoking!"  What that means is that way back when it seemed like everyone smoked cigarettes, health experts tried everything to warn people that smoking will shorten and definitely over time, wreck your life.  An epidemiologist estimated that every cigarette you smoked took 11 minutes off of your healthy life. 

It became clear that smoking caused cancer, heart disease, lung problems including emphysema and more.  Thankfully, many took heed and many people quit smoking.

Nowadays, it seems a new pandemic is wiping us out. People are sitting now more than ever! They are working from home in not the best ergonomic arrangements, kids are not going to actual school, and dang, there are just too many interesting shows on Netflix!

According to the Heart Foundation's website:

"*Over 25% of American adults sit for more than 8 hours every day. 44% of those people get little to no exercise.
*The average American watches approximately 3 hours of television every day.
*The average American is active less than 20 minutes every day.
(The good news:) 60-75 minutes of moderate activity (steady walking) can counter the effects of too much sitting.
*A 2011 study documented 800,000 people and their sitting habits.  The study found that people who sit the most, compared to people who sit the least, have a greater risk of disease and death:

112% increased risk of diabetes.
147% increased risk of cardiovascular events like heart attack and stroke.
90% increased risk of death from cardiovascular events.
49% increased risk of death from any cause."  That is crazy!

Now they say that every hour of sitting takes 22 minutes off of your life!  I'm not sure if those last 22 minutes of my life are going to be my best, but certainly hope they are good ones! Plus, the minutes add up to days, weeks and years. I think that is the point.  A lot of good living can be experienced in our later years and I want to be around to find out! 

These are alarming statistics.  As your Sacramento Chiropractor, I have seen that many of our patients are feeling the effects of too much down time this past year with COVID and all.  One thing I see happen more is that patients come in more frequently in tremendous pain and dysfunction, sometimes barely able to walk. The crazy part is that oftentimes, they report that they do not even know what they did!  I hear, "all I did was stand up, or I just lifted the toilet seat, or even, I just rolled out of bed, and the next thing I knew, my back went into spasms."  I hear these stories more than the obvious ones like, "I lifted a bunch of bags of mulch, or I slipped and fell, etc."  

These injuries and flare-ups that occur with no major apparent cause are the result of the muscle de-conditioning that happens slowly over time with too much sitting and too little activity and exercise. The structures of the body that hold us up and allow us to move and normally held stable with our strong and toned muscles.

The way out, if this happens to you, is to get adjusted, to restore the normal movement and alignment of the joints of your pelvis and back, and then start some basic stretching and exercises restore your lost conditioning.  Then making some changes with how and how often you sit, especially without taking a break. Easy stuff!

Here at Anderson Chiropractic, we see and hear it all, and are very happy to help you get out of pain, get moving again and back to having more fun! 

Blessings, 

Gregg Anderson, D.C.