“The most common form of joint pain is caused by overstretching ligaments due to postural stresses” - Treat Your Own Neck p. 27 by Dr. Robin McKenzie
Posture is the primary cause for chronic pain. Spending too much time sitting leads to poor posture and eventual joint dysfunction and pain.
In my previous career I spent an enormous amount of time sitting at my computer, and my body was often in pain: back pain, shoulder pain, knee pain.
See a doctor any time you’re in pain, but for the majority of chronic pain, Western Medicine’s solution is drugs or surgery.
The Solution
“... Self management and self treatment of most musculoskeletal complaints is more effective, in the long term, than any other treatment method.” - Treat Your Own Neck p. 3 by Dr. Robin McKenzie
I’ll be honest with you, the solution is not easy, but it’s simple: Move.
If you sit at a desk for 12 hours per day with poor posture, there’s very little that can be done to counterbalance this.
The solution is to spend less time sitting or choose better positions to sit in. For example, instead of sitting in a chair, sit on the ground, or kneel down or stand.
Set a 15 minute timer and change your position. Try to choose postures that stretch habitually tight muscles, for example a half-kneeling position in front of your desk will allow you to stretch your hip flexor muscles that get tight from sitting.
If you’re lucky enough to have a pull-up bar nearby, each hour spend 1 minute hanging with palms facing forward because this will help to lengthen the upper body muscles that have gotten overly tight from sitting.
There are lots of fancy exercises and claims on social media that one exercise or one routine can fix your pain. The reality is in order to stop your pain, you need to address the cause of your pain: poor posture!
Next Steps
I hope you now understand that posture and your resting position is the primary determinant of your chronic pain. From here you can make a greater effort to move regularly throughout the day.
Exercise can help tremendously on your journey, and if you want help, I offer online coaching and in-person training and you can schedule a fitness consultation here.
Hope this helps! - Tom
Kommentarer