Nowadays is easier for society to encourage a sedentary lifestyle with modern office jobs and home entertainment. with these habits our bodies might protest against the inactivity creating injuries and discomfort. But fear not, there are ways to prevent and dodge these sneaky conditions. Let’s explore ways to fight back and keep ourselves as healthy as possible and discover the joy of keeping our bodies in motion.
Unmasking the sedentary conditions
Injuries don’t just happen when our bodies are in motion. As you’re sitting comfortably on your chair or couch, back pain can attack unexpectedly. Back pain, especially lower back pain, is the most common sedentary affliction, often caused by prolonged sitting, weak muscles, and poor posture.
Following is the dreaded neck pain, frequent in people with sedentary jobs as they spend more time looking at screens, accompanied by a bad posture. This can cause neck stiffness and discomfort.
As we remain seated for long periods of time, our pain might shift to our knees. This is a protest of weakened muscles and lack of movement. Remember that the knee joints bear most of our weight and helps us in walking or running, being inactive can cause the joint to become stiff.
A sedentary lifestyle can also give you a hunchback and shoulder problems. This is notorious in daily desk-dwellers with poor desk ergonomics. As mentioned above, shoulder muscles also become weakened and stiff.
It’s important to highlight that a sedentary lifestyle does not only affect the musculoskeletal system, but in the long term it can have more serious health consequences like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and some types of cancer.
Avoiding the common sedentary conditions
Now that we’ve uncovered the common discomforts our body can suffer, it’s time to learn how to avoid them and keep pain at bay. Some important tips are:
- Take regular breaks from sitting by standing up and stretching
- Stay physical active, try to take a short stroll around your neighborhood, this will also help with your mood and energy levels
- Remember the power of maintaining a good posture in your daily routine
- Take a break from screens to help your neck and eyes
- Remove tension from your hands and shoulders
Within a sedentary lifestyle, injuries and other afflictions might appear, but with a change in our habits we can turn the narrative around. Embrace the benefits of being active and slowly break free from that sedentary routine, saying bye to pain, stiff muscles, and other health risks.