Below are six common everyday activities that will affect you negatively if done improperly. In my clinical experiences, most spinal dysfunction are due to everyday activities of daily living or hobbies. The things we enjoy can be the things that are creating pain and other bad symptoms due to the fragility of our bodies and spine.
Reading a book.
One of the best hobbies or pastimes to have but can create negative effects overtime. This includes students whose job it is to look down constantly at books and notes. I read with a much better posture because I know better, now. But I once remember while in undergraduate and in chiropractic school when after long periods of studying, feeling strains and achy pain in the neck. Sometimes this tension would cause headaches. Be creative in different ways to read. There are special chairs that help you get into a more comfortable posture, stands that allow you to hold your head up, and simple exercises that you can do to counter the negative effects of having to look down when reading or studying and ruining your neck in the process.
On the phone
The great wonders of technology. Your own computer and much more right in the palm of your hand. Although cellphones have become the must-have item in our society today, it’s also the reason neck tension and headaches have nearly or already passed lower back pain as the leading symptoms people complain of. Studies online are saying the average adult spends around 5 hours on their mobile devices per day. A teenager spend an average of 9 hours per day looking at mobile device screens. These are astounding numbers that make perfect sense as to why so many people are getting discomfort and tension. Text neck is a nickname for the abnormal straightening of the neck curvature. It’s seen on lateral neck x-rays where a normal neck should curve or arch forward close to 25 – 35 degrees. I run into x-rays nowadays that can present with not only a straight non arching neck but a reversed arch that curves the opposite direction created by bad neck posture.
Sleeping
Sleeping in the wrong positions can have a number of negative effect on the spine. We at Core Chiropractic have written numerous blogs that speak on the dangers of sleeping in the wrong position. If you not familiar with this information, please take time to do so by visiting our blog tab on our website or just click here. To explain briefly, sleeping on your stomach is the worst position that can create neck and back pain. Laying on the stomach, or prone, will compress structures the lower back causing pain and degeneration and can create tension in the neck leading to headaches and the nagging achy pain in the upper back atop the shoulders. Changing your sleeping posture can go along way in the process of fixing your posture and decreasing the risk of pain. The average person sleeps 6 to 8 hours a day. This adds up to a quarter or up to a third of your life. It’s beneficial that this huge period of your life is in good posture.
Watching TV
Another of America’s favorite pastimes. Who can blame them with so much entertainment blasting constantly, 24 hours a day on the many television programs and streaming sites. This can also fit into the phone category above with the capability of watching TV so easily on the phone. Actually phone have better variety that TV. But I differentiate the two because of the different position a TV can create. Usually when watching TV, the body twisting and contortions we do while sitting and sinking into plush couches, laying on the couch, laying in bed, or laid back in your recliner, can also present negative effects. Most of us have that favorite chair or spot on the couch that has worn overtime and now leans go one side but that won’t stop us from sitting there, it our spot. Or the lean to the right or left into the arm rest that occurs every time we sit down. Eventually the body grows accustomed to the bad habits and overtime creates bad symptoms.
Working out
Bad form is the usual suspects with injuries during workouts. Two of the most common workouts that cause injury is squatting and dead-lifting. They both add a lot of weight to the lower back and will damage structures such as discs, nerves, and vertebrae if the weight is not distributed in the correct areas with good form.
Sitting at your workstation
Similar time periods as sleeping. When you’re younger it was sitting in a school desk, nowadays it’s sitting at a desk at work for 6-8 hours a day. In practice today, a majority of my patients are in an office setting. If you didn’t survey with 100 people who works in an office setting and asked how is your posture, I’m fairly certain the results would tilt on the bad posture side. How many times have you heard someone say they carry or hold their stress in their neck or top of the shoulders? How many times have you said it? This same tension only gets worse and not only wears you down mentally but is physically affecting your body in many ways. At Core Chiropractic, we know how much of a problem this is and have come up with a system to combat the negative effects of bad while sitting at your workstation.
All of these negative consequences to everyday activities can be prevented when taught the correct ways to do them. There is a right and wrong way to do things. Only when dealing with the body, the wrong way can lead to despair in the form of pain, arthritis, broken bones, herniated discs, or worse. Do your research and correct your posture during these activities. We have blogs and other information on our website at CoreChiropractic.net that can help you stay out of pain and stay well.