Down with the Chair! 7 tips from your osteopath to survive working at a desk all day
One of the most frequent – generally indignant – comments made by patients in pain visiting our clinic is “I don’t understand how this happened, I wasn’t doing anything!”. Unwittingly, they are highlighting one of the main causes of modern human injury: a sedentary lifestyle centered on deskwork and driving which is not involving good posture. So what are its implications for human health?
A BRIEF HISTORY OF BODYFRAME DETERIORATION
Bluntly, the human body was designed for a very different “lifestyle” and purpose to that in which we indulge today. And for most of its existence, Homo Sapiens probably used its body far more in accordance with that design, walking daily far and wide in search of food, throwing spears at quarries, reaching upwards to pluck berries (or climb out of reach from predators) and squatting for rest or to commune with nature...
The rot set in 12,000 years ago when humans began farming the soil in Sumeria (now Iraq) still using their bodies actively, but bending forwards continuously to tend the soil they dug, sowed and harvested – archeological health records suggest the frequency of disc injuries and early spine degeneration began increasing from thereon.
But the last 250 years have witnessed the most spectacular lifestyle changes and related damage to our body frames: the industrial revolution required humans to stand or sit at a fixed production station doing limited repetitive movements all day long where a good posture is not achieved; more recently, the vast majority of workers now sit for hours at a desk staring into a screen and use micro-movements to input data into machines; i-pads and mobile phones even allow us to work in our bed or sofa – but at what price to our poor body?
So we now “do a lot (of work) whilst doing nothing (with our bodies)”, take this to be the norm and are rather offended when our body finally rebels at its neglect.
ANATOMY OF A DISASTER FOR GOOD POSTURE: EFFECTS OF SITTING ON THE BODY AS A WHOLE
A leading health expert and author aptly observed that:
“Of all the machines which civilisation has invented for the torture of humankind, there are few which perform their task more widely and cruelly than the chair”
Dennis Zacharkow
However uncomfortable the exercise, let us reflect “from head to toe” on what sitting at a workstation and not achieving a good posture does to our bodies:
• The muscles of our eyes tire as we stare at our screen all day;
• Our brain fogs over and our head aches as the blood flow reduces when our necks gradually crane forwards;
• Our shoulders hunch over, restricting neck movement and causing neck pain;
• Our hunched rib cage causes us to use our weaker neck muscles to breathe rather than the more powerful diaphragm, restricting breathing power and blood flow, and putting more pressure on the heart;
• Our digestive tract is compressed, blood flow to the gut is limited, and the diaphragm can’t mobilize the gut – impeding nutrient digestion and absorption;
• Instead of sporting three successive curvatures enabling erectness, movement, balance, shock absorption - the spine adopts a single “C” curvature increasing vertebral and discal loading, increasing the risk of disc injury;
• The full weight of the upper body squashes our pelvis into the seat of the chair – affecting the health of our reproductive organs, urinary and rectal tracts…;
• Blood flow to our legs is minimal, and our leg muscles rest passively and shortened, increasing the risk of muscle injury, ankle sprain etc.
The more lucid and energetic will try and exercise once or twice a week to counter this – but very often this takes the form of what I call “five-aside syndrome” – springing up from the desk, driving to the sports pitch, skipping warming up, tearing around a sports pitch for an hour, skipping warming down or stretching, then meeting pals for a drink or two – is this really what our body needs?
Contact our therapist via email or phone or book an appointment directly!
SO WHAT CAN BE DONE TO SURVIVE THIS LATTERDAY ONSLAUGHT AND ACHIEVE A GOOD POSTURE LONGTERM?
Turning our back to our workstation is clearly not an option – rather, we need to implement a range of ergonomic, exercise and lifestyle changes around our working day to counter the damage of our sedentary lifestyle. Here are a few suggestions:
1. Invest in a workstation allowing you to “fidget” throughout the working day – you will need an electronically powered standing desk, the “least bad” office chair available and a balance board to alternate between a seated, standing and “wobbling” working position every 15-20 minutes – we can recommend robust affordable equipment;
2. Ban working on your laptop - purchase a large screen, separate keyboard, and vertical mouse - consider even alternating between a left and right-handed mouse. Use an ergonomics checklist video to ensure equipment is adjusted to the right height and distance – again, we can recommend relevant models;
3. Do a short whole-body desk exercise workout every couple of hours spent at the desk – our suggestion: https://www.bridgetohealth.co.uk/workplace-videos/exercises-at-work-sitting - password is b2h-2022 ;
4. Sip 6 to 8 250ml-glasses of water throughout the day – and walk to the furthest source of water available to refill!
5. Go for a brisk 20-minute walk before lunch and eat away from your desk;
6. Schedule two to three weekly exercise sessions of 45 minutes to an hour combining bodyweight sequences (e.g., calisthenics) and cardiovascular (e.g., running or rowing) sessions – include a 10-minute warm-up routine before and a 10-minute warm-down after;
7. Visit your osteopath every three months for a maintenance treatment, and have a therapeutic massage session once a month to promote better muscular and circulatory health – you might expect me to say this, but I do no less and face down 60-hour working weeks in spite of a very battered body-frame…
Good luck in considering and implementing these changes, achieving a good posture is life and health enhancing. Remember we are here to help and advise, so seek our input when required.
I have spent too much time writing this article – I am now off to exercise!
Find out more
Do you wish to discuss achieving a good posture further? Are you based in West London and would you want to find our more? Please feel free to book an appointment with our West London based Bridge To Health Osteopath Mathieu Rossano at 020 3757 6544 or by email mathieu@bridgetohealth.co.uk. Or simply book an appointment directly. He will be happy to see you at our Ealing or Uxbridge clinics.
