We probably all know by now that sitting for an extended period of time is bad for our health. However, we have to accept that nowadays that’s the position we would be mostly due to the kind of jobs people generally have and the lifestyle that we’ve all evolved to be living.
This is sad, yes. But while we can all try to be clever with how we stay active to counteract the effects of sitting, know that the chair will have to be a constant companion.
So the question is, is there no other way? Of course there is, you may be propped in the chair most of the time, but you can still keep your body moving.
Yes, it’s called dynamic sitting! So basically, you inject small movements even as you go on your deskbound activity. Compared to static sitting, this keeps your body from being completely sedentary which could and would cause a lot of health issues more than you can imagine.
There may be chiropractors in Singapore that can help you correct your posture, relieve the pains accompanied with prolonged sitting, treat spinal injury or disorder you may have developed overtime and prevent them from coming back, still, you need to make an effort at your end. Here are some tips to practice active sitting.
Stretch Your Arms
Many arm exercises can be performed while seated at your desk. Try interlocking your fingers in both hands, and stretch your arms over your head as high as you can. This should help loosen the stiffness in your arms as well the shoulders from typing throughout the day. Feel the stretch for about 5 seconds and repeat for 8 times.
Roll Your Neck
Don’t you find yourself rubbing your nape during the day when you’re on the computer? That’s because of the tension building up as you maintain the same position for too long. To ease that a bit, you can make circular motion with your head. You probably already do this a couple of times a day without realizing it. But this time, try to really focus on the movement. Do it clockwise and then counterclockwise. Remember to keep the movement slow and fluid (not jerky and rigid), you don’t want to cause any more pain.
Shake Your Legs
When you sit all day, don’t be surprised if your legs become rigid or numb at some point. What you can do is straighten them in front of you and do scissors movement with them. Do ten sets of eight reps to strengthen your thigh muscles and your core.
Squeeze Your Butt
Okay, so you’re literally pressing the muscles, nerves, and ligaments in your butt and hips down as you stay seated. This is why after a couple of hours or so you start feeling some soreness around that area. Work it out by clenching or squeezing the muscles in your butt like how you would when you do squats.
Change Your Leg Position From Time To Time
Do you like to cross your legs when you sit? Keep them from being tender by switching legs or resting both the legs from side to side. But if you can avoid it, try not to cross your legs at all whenever you sit as this position makes your body accustomed to this lopsided position, and your pelvis may slowly rotate over time and become tilted.
Roll Your Feet
Just like how you roll your wrist when it starts getting tired, you can do that with your feet too. Lift on feet off the ground then use your ankles to move them in circular motion.
Circle Your Hips And Pelvis
Do this by acting like your using a hula-hoop, except there’s no hula-hoop and your sitting down. This keeps the hips and pelvis from aching too much.
So, yes these movements helps and are better than nothing, but don’t think for one second that you can get away with just doing these! They are only for those times that you really can’t get up from your desk that much because you’re rushing or trying to meet a deadline or whatever it is. But, understand that it’s the bare minimum that you can do as far as exercising goes and are not enough if you want optimal health benefits.