Did you know the average adult spends approximately 6.5 hours a day or more sitting. For teenagers that number increase to around 8 hours a day. That’s a lot of sitting! Studies have shown that sitting for long periods of time can lead to diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.
Most of us spend our days in front of a computer working and then we get home from a long day at work and then spend our night sitting on the couch. With all those hours of sitting, your posture permanently changes to adapt to this new habit. Your neck, shoulders and back start to move further away from their true center, this can cause:
- Upper and lower back pain
- Hip tightness
- Loss of mobility
- Breathing problems
Let’s take these negative impacts a step further into real life scenarios:
- Athletes- poor posture can lead to poor physical performance and an increase in the risks of injury.
- Desk Workers- poor posture can lead to a decrease in productivity and an increase in missed work due to not feeling well and doctor visits.
- Anyone trying to lose weight – Poor posture can lead to slower progress towards losing weight since muscles tighten so any chance of exercising becomes even more difficult.
Even though we can’t all change the fact that we sit for long periods of time, we can do some easy thoracic mobility exercises in order to undo some of the damage that’s been done to our bodies from sitting.
What Are Thoracic Mobility Exercises?
Thoracic mobility refers to the thoracic spine, which is the longest part of the spine. It runs from the upper back down to the abdomen. The following exercises can help relieve some pain experiences from the negative effects of sitting:
- Foam Roller Exercise – use a foam roller for about 5 minutes in the morning and then 5 minutes at night or before a workout. There are a lot of exercises out there that you can do, we have found many people suggest this one.
- Structure Breathing Techniques – Sit on the floor with your back and hips against a wall. Breathe in fully through your nose before forcefully exhaling through your mouth and reaching forward with your arms. Repeat for 2-3 sets of 3-4 breaths. Pause for three seconds at the end of each breath.
These exercises can help reverse the negative effects of sitting for long periods of time. However, if you are looking for expert advice on how to relieve back, neck and spine pain then please contact one of our top-rated orthopedic surgeons.
Comments are closed.