It’s Time To Cure Sitting Disease!

Hello again friends, Dr. Chris Renne here. Today were going to discuss the dangers we all face living a sedentary lifestyle, particularly as this pertains to our spinal health.

How many hours per day do you spend sitting down? If you work in an office, probably more than a few! (Use this handy online calculator to figure out your daily ‘sit time’.) Global studies have shown that we spend an average of 7.7 hours per day sitting.

“Okay, doc, so I am sitting at my desk all day at work. So what?”

People who sit most of the day are at an elevated risk for non-accidental back injuries. The load on the discs in your spine is actually less when you are standing versus when you are sitting. If you suffer from lumbar degenerative disc disease, this difference in pressure can make a big difference.

But when you sit all day, a lot more than just your spinal health is at risk!

Studies show that prolonged sitting leads to diabetes, heart disease, cancer, obesity,

depression, and even early death, folks! Yikes.

According to a study that examined mortality in women, those who are inactive and sitting for more than 6 hours a day are 94% more likely to die prematurely. Men - you are not off the hook! Your sedentary lifestyles increase your risk of cardiovascular mortality by 82%.

Mayo Clinic endocrinologist James Levine, an outspoken advocate for increased standing, has studied the effects of prolonged sitting. He comments, "Today, our bodies are breaking down from obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, depression and the cascade of health ills and everyday malaise that come from what scientists have named Sitting Disease."

Sound pretty alarming? Fortunately, there’s an easy fix: stand-up desks! Grab a stand up desk and find out just how easy it is to improve your health by committing to sitting just a little less every day. Your spine ‐ and your overall health ‐ will thank you.

Here is how to counteract the potentially negative effects of Sitting Disease:

• Purchase (or make) a standup desk, making sure to position your computer screen and keyboard in a way that will encourage good posture.
• Start out alternating between standing and sitting. While you are sitting, office ergonomics can help lower the risks associated with prolonged sitting in an office chair, such as neck strain, lower back pain, and leg pain.
• At first, only stand for two hours each day to allow your muscles to get used to the new arrangement. Gradually increase the amount of time you spend standing.
• To make sure you spend time standing, assign an activity like phone or email time as ‘standing only’, or set an alarm on your phone to remind you when to stand.

As an added incentive for adopting a standing desk, you could also lose weight! When you stand you fidget and move around more, and so you burn more calories than you do when sitting! Use this calorie-burn calculator to see how many more calories you'll burn by standing for all or part of your work-day. It adds up quick! The weekly incremental calorie burn by using a standup desk can add up to an 830 extra calories per week, or about a pound a month!

Take the first steps to living a healthier lifestyle by committing to stand a little more every day. As always, should you have questions, I’d love to talk with you.

Yours in health,

Christopher B. Renne, D.C.

4111 Atlantic Boulevard, Jacksonville, Fl. 32207

www.activechirocenter.com