If You Sit At Work (Or Sit At All), You Might Want To Read This! Especially If You Keep Your Wallet Or Cell Phone In Your Back Pocket…

Everyone (at least everyone we know of) sits, but some people sit more than others.  For example, if you have an office job, there is a very good chance you sit for the majority of your day.  Even though sitting has been associated with low back pain (LBP) by many, research has shown that “sitting alone was not associated with the risk of developing LBP.”

But (and this is a very big BUT) sitting combined with either “whole body vibration” WBV or awkward postures did increase LBP.  In fact, according to the study, “when the co-exposure factors of WBV and awkward postures were added to the analysis, the risk of LBP increased fourfold. The risk effect of prolonged sitting increased significantly when the factors of WBV and awkward postures were combined. Sitting by itself does not increase the risk of LBP. However, sitting for more than half a workday, in combination with WBV and/or awkward postures, does increase the likelihood of having LBP and/or sciatica, and it is the combination of those risk factors which leads to the greatest increase in LBP.”

Helicopter pilots showed the strongest association between WBV and LBP.  Clearly, truck drivers, heavy machinery operators, etc. can be at risk as well.

Here is something important:  Many people create their own “awkward posture,” even if they have an ergonomically designed work station and think their posture is perfect.  They ruin everything simply by keeping a big, fat wallet in their back pocket.  In fact, the wallet does not even have to be that fat to have a negative effect.  Nowadays, we see a lot of people suffering because they keep their cell phone in their back pocket and sit on it. You see, when you sit on a wallet or cell phone, it un-levels your pelvis, which then un-levels your entire spine.  This will cause abnormal stress and strain throughout your entire spine, muscular and nervous system.  It can cause LBP, mid-back pain, neck pain, sciatica, headaches and more.

This is a major reason some people do not get the desired results from Chiropractic care.  No matter what the doctors do, if you sit on a wallet (or have other bad posture) all day, it will simply work against the treatments.  Many people do not see the connection between neck pain or headaches and sitting on a wallet or something else that is causing awkward posture. Advice:  Simply put your wallet (or anything else like a cell phone) in your front pockets.  Plus, you won’t break your cell phone as much.