Doctors explained why it’s dangerous to bend over, sit cross-legged and constantly stare at your phone
Photo: GLOBAL LOOK PRESS
Every day we do something harmful to our health: we sleep little, eat poorly, and even sit incorrectly! But the most important thing in this is that everything can be corrected if we understand what we are doing wrong.
Our experts told kp.ru about dangerous postures that can seriously harm health: Doctor of Medical Sciences, kinesiotherapist Sergey Bubnovsky, PhD, neurologist Viktor Koss.
1. Slouching while sitting at a table.
What can be harmful:
The load on the intervertebral joints changes, thoracic kyphosis increases (that is, a visible stooping appears in the cervical region), there is a risk of microtrauma of blood vessels and nerve endings. In most cases, this leads to headaches, pain in the neck and chest.
To do:
To begin with, learn to sit correctly: shoulders straight, neck straight, lower back, fully supported on the back of the chair. The distance to the screen should be 50-75 cm, the legs are straight, at an angle not 90, but 100 degrees, that is, slightly pushed back on the table. Hips parallel to the ground. It is important that the arms have enough space to sit on the table, in no case should they hang.
Take a break every hour for at least 10 minutes. You have to take a walk, stretch. If you’re working from home, do a one minute plank, 5-10 pushups from a table or even a wall if you can’t get it off the floor.
Ideally, buy a special balance pad for the chair – it does not allow you to slouch, helps to maintain the correct posture.
2. Looking at the phone all the time.
What can be harmful:
The correct physiological curves in the cervical spine begin to change. The load on the muscles and vessels of the neck increases, there may be compression of the nerve endings. Therefore, the neck and head begin to ache, due to pinched vessels, we think worse.
What to do: Once every 15 minutes, step away from the phone (tablet) and very gently tilt your head left and right and forward. Avoid sudden movements to avoid causing microtrauma.
3. He loves the cross-legged position.
What can be harmful:
The longer and more often we sit in this position, and without changing legs, the greater the likelihood of a pelvic tilt, as well as violations of the physiological curves of the spine and a high risk of squeezing the nerve endings. And most importantly – the development of varicose veins due to transfer and vessels.
To do:
No one argues: the pose is beautiful and very seductive (especially for beauties in short skirts). But still try to listen to his body signals: if you feel your legs start to go numb, change your position. It is advisable to get up and walk around every half hour, even making slight curves and turns to disperse the blood. It will also help up and down the flight of stairs.
4. Falling asleep face down.
That is dangerous:
Due to the fact that we lie on our stomach, the curvature of the cervical spine becomes more convex, and the curvature in the lower back and the thoracic region becomes smaller (flattened). Because of this, you can wake up in the morning with severe pain in the back and neck. Even spinal microtrauma is possible.
To do:
If you can’t get rid of a bad habit, get a good orthopedic mattress and a pillow that correctly distributes the load on the vertebrae.
5. Carry the bag on one shoulder at all times.
What can be harmful:
Scoliosis can develop in children, and adults can visually “drop” one shoulder.
To do:
Obviously: carry the bag on different shoulders. Choose bags with wide straps, so the load is distributed more evenly. And it is better to start getting used to backpacks if the problem becomes obvious.
6. Wear stilettos or flats.
What can be harmful:
Any non-physiological footwear can cause problems with the joints of the foot, ligaments. Oddly enough, the feet are directly connected with the head: if they are squeezed, blood circulation is disturbed, and the head begins to ache.
If you’re constantly wearing heels, this can throw off more than just your posture. In stilettos, all the pressure is transferred to the toes, knees, joints and hips automatically lean forward, and the body, respectively, back. Nothing physiological. Ligaments and joints, including intervertebral ones, experience tension and excessive pressure.
“If you think that since heels are harmful, then their complete absence (for example, ballet flats) is a suitable option, then I will disappoint you,” says Olga Chizhevskaya, director of the Association of Medical Centers and League Physicians of Podiatry. – Podiatrists, doctors who specialize in foot problems, have shown that flat shoes are even more damaging. In such shoes, the foot’s ability to absorb shock to the ground is drastically reduced. And the correct physiological roll is impossible, that is, pushing with your fingers will not work well. As a result, the gait changes greatly, the joints, ligaments and muscles are excessively overloaded.
To do:
Back home, give yourself a foot massage (there are even special massage “baths” for the home, even hydromassage). Or you can simply put your feet in cold salt water for 10 minutes. And then do a little exercise: roll a ball, a pencil, try to pick up small objects with your toes, the same pencil.
You will be surprised, but after doing these simple procedures, you will feel that fatigue recedes, even a headache disappears. After all, there are a lot of nerve endings in the feet, and gymnastics improves microcirculation and helps the blood to be saturated with oxygen.
And choose the right shoes: it is better for people of any profession, but especially for those who spend a lot of time on their feet, comfortable shoes with a small heel (3-4 cm), rather wide and stable.
IMPORTANT
What can mask back pain?
If the back hurts not from incorrect posture, but from itself, and at the same time there is almost no effect of pain relievers, then this may be a sign of a serious illness. Or problems with other organs: pain between the shoulder blades can indicate problems with the heart, the kidneys are sent to the lower back, and the stomach or gallbladder is sent to the thoracic region.
Back pain can indicate excessive nervous tension and even depression; due to them, the production of serotonin, the joy hormone, which works as an analgesic, decreases. Consequently, the pain threshold is lowered.
Also, constant back pain may indicate a growing tumor or even metastases … In other words, it is important to find out its causes, and not drink painkillers by the handful.
