Costco Connection - October 2011

health for your

MEDIA BAKERY/HERMAN MILLER

A matter of gravity

Too much sitting can compromise your health

By Jennifer Nelson

MIKE DELGADO knew something had to give. “I typically sit in an office chair 12 to 14 hours a day, and I was starting to have major low-back-pain issues,” says the 24-year-old Costco member from Santa Clarita, California. About to head to a chiropractor seeking relief, Delgado instead purchased an ergonomic office chair. Though skeptical it could make a difference, within a week he felt better and one year later is pain-free. He credits the chair.

Surprisingly, Delgado—and others who sit at a desk all day—is a lot like an astronaut. When astronauts are in space, they lengthen, explains Joan Vernikos, former NASA scientist and author of Sitting Kills, Moving Heals: How Simple Everyday Movement Will Prevent Pain, Illness, and Early Death—and Exercise Alone Won’t (Quill Drive, 2011).“They stretch out because nothing is pulling them down.” Then they return to Earth and, wham, their backs compress. Muscles that support the spine that were not used in space due to weightlessness, suddenly are faced with gravity, and need to prevent vertebrae from slamming against each other. It’s a lot like sitting.

People don’t need rocket scientists to tell them that sitting too much could give them a sore back. But now, other health problems are attributed to too much sitting, including raised blood pressure and, of course, obesity.

The conventional wisdom says that if you
watch your weight and get aerobic exercise at
least a few times a week, you’ll effectively offset
your sedentary downtime. A growing body of
research, however, suggests this advice makes
no more sense than countering a pack-a-day
smoking habit by eating salad at every meal.
“Astronauts exercise like crazy,” says Vernikos,
“but it’s not an antidote for the absence of
gravity—or for too much sitting.”

Splash landing

Sitting is equivalent to what happens when you quit using gravity. When you stand up, gravity pulls on your body from head to toe. When you sit down, that distance is smaller, and if you allowed gravity to have its way, you’d be crumpled on the floor.

“We are born in gravity and have evolved
in it,” Vernikos says. “If we don’t use it and we
sit or lie down too frequently, then we do
away with the stimulation that nature pro-
vides, because we aren’t using muscles while
sitting all day.”
What happens when you stop using core,
spine and other muscles that engage while
standing? A host of health issues.

Houston, we have a problem

To complicate the issue further, if you slump in your chair, round your shoulders forward, lean toward your computer screen and sit with your legs tucked under, it’s not difficult to see why you might have back pain, neck pain and other problems.

“Posture is huge [when you’re sitting] in a chair, and if you’re tall or short it completely changes the angles,” says Costco member Sara Daly, physical therapist at Waterfalls Day Spa and Vermont Wellness Retreats in Middlebury, Vermont.

One small step

Since most of us sit eight to 10 hours at work, then sit on our drive home and plop in front of the television for more sitting at night, how can we counter these effects? “The most important thing is to get out of your chair and stand up,” says Vernikos. Adjust, pace and move. Get up every 20 or 30 minutes and just stand—you don’t even need to walk around.

Daly says to take breaks and change positions frequently. Walk while on the phone, squeeze your shoulder blades together, flex and point your ankles. Set a computer or phone alarm to remind you to change position. Post notes at your desk, or buddy up with a co-worker and prompt each other.