Sitting Properly...

Sitting…

Now, more than ever, we are doing way too much sitting. We sit at the computer, the TV, traveling in cars and planes, eating, talking on the phone, working, school. And it is not just that we are sitting, but we are “shlumping”.

We are designed to work from a neutral spine, not flexed forward. When we “shlump” our muscles become lax. Try it for yourself, sit upright on your sit bones. Imagine there is a string attached to the top of your head pulling you up tall, lengthen through the back of the neck, drop the shoulders down, and lift through the chest, tighten the abdominals. How do your clothes hang in this position? Now shlump and see the fabric become wrinkled, this is what is happening to your abdominals. Now you know where that poochie belly is coming from. When you shlump for long periods of time, your hips and shoulders become stiff, and the hip flexors and neck muscles must compensate as they are tightening to hold you up.

Crossing your legs…
So, we now know that shlumping is bad, but even worse is crossing your legs. Circulation is compromised to start with. And you are creating an imbalance in the spine by compressing one side of the body and overstretching on the other side. We always seem to cross to the same side, which increases the stress. Having your legs crossed makes it impossible to contract the pelvic floor muscles. Again, try this and see what happens. Put your hands below your bellybutton, and sit tall with a neutral spine, feet flat on the floor, and feel the improved muscle tone. Now cross the legs, and feel how the muscle tone becomes lax. Your spine is compensating in this position. The internal obliques are active if you sit on a firm surface, but when you sit on a soft sofa or cross the legs, this activity is greatly reduced.

Head Position…
When we shlump in our chair, we also poke our chin out, putting increased stress and overload on our neck and shoulders. We need to reduce the stress on the neck muscles by keeping our head balanced on our neck, tucking our chin in slightly, and checking to see that our ears are directly in line with our shoulders. Throughout the day, stretch the neck muscles, do some shoulder circles and concentrate on dropping the shoulders down.

Helpful hints...
Try to sit up tall and balance on the sit bones.
If you have to lean, try to hinge at the hip, not round through the back.
Try not to sit still for too long, shift positions, move around.
Don’t hold the telephone in between your ear and shoulder!!
Move your chair around, don’t twist the body to get to another part of your desk.
Get a chair with wheels. Try an Evolution Chair, or just sit on a stability ball.
Do some seated stretches for the neck, hip flexors, hamstrings, shoulders throughout the day.
Get some exercise on a break from work – lunch go for a walk, or coffee break take the stairs. A little exercise goes a long way!!
Skip the TV watching and go for a walk!!
In the car, put a rolled up towel or a small pillow behind the low back, and sit tall, try to pull your belly button away from the seat belt, don’t push the belly into the seat belt.


If you reduce the activities that break down the body, and increase pain, such as the shlumping or the leg crossing, and add better body mechanics, like sitting up tall and standing tall, your body will cooperate and improve.

To learn more about Core Stability and Proper Posture:

· A visit to a Physiotherapist for a postural assessment
· An appointment with a Personal Trainer
· Pilates Classes
· Stability Ball Classes


All available at:
Summerland Physiotherapy and Sports Care
AB:solution Pilates and Fitness Training
10121 Main Street Summerland
494-1828