Chiro-practical
If You Don't Use It, You Lose It
Have you ever stopped and thought about how little you actually use the muscles in your body during an average day? Let's think about the average person's 24-hour routine. Early in the morning, we get out of bed after spending nearly eight hours sleeping and relaxing our muscles and minds. We begin our day by spending our first hour cleaning up and getting ready for work.
After that hour, our sedentary lifestyle begins. We sit at the kitchen table and have breakfast; then, we sit in our cars and drive to work. We get to work and, because of the increases in technology, sit at our desks on the phone or in front of a computer for about three or four hours. Then, it's lunchtime. We sit in the car, drive to a restaurant, and sit down to eat. After lunch, back to our desks we go for another four to five hours of sitting. Five o'clock rolls around, work is over, so we sit in our cars, drive home, and sit down at the table for dinner. When dinner is over, it's time to relax and sit on the couch to watch some television. Three more hours of sitting go by, and the evening passes. After spending time sitting, sitting, and sitting some more, it's time to get back in bed and start the whole cycle over again. Does your day sound similar to this?
There are many reasons people develop back pain. The number of people suffering from back pain has increased just as fast as technology has. Why? Technology has made things so convenient, we hardly have to use our bodies; consequently, our muscles aren't being used enough. The effect of this is de-conditioning of our muscles-especially the spinal stabilizing muscles. As our spinal stabilizing muscles weaken our posture, changes and additional stress is put on the ligaments, tendons, muscles, nerves, and bones in our body. This additional stress causes our body to break down prematurely, leading to pain and dysfunction.
Research tells us the best predictor of future back pain is whether or not you've had back pain in the past. Once your spinal stabilizing muscles have weakened, odds are you'll be plagued with ongoing pain until the muscles are strengthened and the joints are cared for and stabilized correctly.
Try to avoid a sedentary lifestyle, and start using your muscles today. Remember, if you don't use it, you lose it. TPW
After that hour, our sedentary lifestyle begins. We sit at the kitchen table and have breakfast; then, we sit in our cars and drive to work. We get to work and, because of the increases in technology, sit at our desks on the phone or in front of a computer for about three or four hours. Then, it's lunchtime. We sit in the car, drive to a restaurant, and sit down to eat. After lunch, back to our desks we go for another four to five hours of sitting. Five o'clock rolls around, work is over, so we sit in our cars, drive home, and sit down at the table for dinner. When dinner is over, it's time to relax and sit on the couch to watch some television. Three more hours of sitting go by, and the evening passes. After spending time sitting, sitting, and sitting some more, it's time to get back in bed and start the whole cycle over again. Does your day sound similar to this?
There are many reasons people develop back pain. The number of people suffering from back pain has increased just as fast as technology has. Why? Technology has made things so convenient, we hardly have to use our bodies; consequently, our muscles aren't being used enough. The effect of this is de-conditioning of our muscles-especially the spinal stabilizing muscles. As our spinal stabilizing muscles weaken our posture, changes and additional stress is put on the ligaments, tendons, muscles, nerves, and bones in our body. This additional stress causes our body to break down prematurely, leading to pain and dysfunction.
Research tells us the best predictor of future back pain is whether or not you've had back pain in the past. Once your spinal stabilizing muscles have weakened, odds are you'll be plagued with ongoing pain until the muscles are strengthened and the joints are cared for and stabilized correctly.
Try to avoid a sedentary lifestyle, and start using your muscles today. Remember, if you don't use it, you lose it. TPW