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Sitting for extended periods may be one of the single most damaging things you can do to yourself. I know this common practice seems harmless enough, but consider for the moment these facts. When you are in a seated posture, there is more pressure on the discs in your spine than in any other. If you are compounding the problem and sitting in a bad position, the severity of the situation is made far worse (In the average day, western cultures sit over 60% of the time!!!). Compounding this problem is the fact that most people are not exercising at all, or nearly enough to counteract the ill effects of their dominant (sitting) position. Therefore, the tissues that are most stressed, get less circulation from normal blood flow, and the quality of the tissues gradually breaks down over time. As I mentioned earlier, the posture most people sit in is atrocious, and this adds immeasurably to the rate of damage to the spinal structures. On top of all this grim news is the fact that most of you have not had a chiropractic evaluation to determine if you have damaged your spine as yet, and if you have, to what degree. The proper alignment of all your spinal structures is essential to your health and the continued optimum function of your spine and the rest of your body.
We gradually form patterns over time. Think about it. If you were to reverse your knife and fork when you eat to opposite hands, wouldn't this change things a bit? How about shaving? Do you dare, especially in a hurry, change your shaving hand? I would think not, for safety's sake!! So here is the problem. We readily form patterns, that is a given. Without the knowledge of how to sit properly, we will form bad postural "habits" and further complicate the effects of gravity on the spine, and damage our health. Ah!! the solution!! We learn to sit properly, and then we are forming good patterns instead of bad!!!!!
How to sit for maximum performance, and minimize the ill effects.
1. Your chair back (or car seat for that matter), must be as straight as possible, and you must be able to have your legs comfortably bent to allow your lower back curve to gently arch forward.
2. By rolling up a towel to about 3" in diameter, and placing it in the "small of " your back you can inexpensively support your spine and encourage the forward curve mentioned above. If you must, you can spend some money for a fancier "back support" if you wish, but most of the time the towel support will do just fine.
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