MORE SITTING, MORE PROBLEMS

For many of us, sitting is a large part of our day.  Whether it's sitting at a desk hammering away at our keyboard, driving a vehicle as part of our job, commuting to and from work, sitting at the dinner table, or just relaxing on the couch after a long day.   Unfortunately, long periods of sitting can cause more problems than the benefits we get from resting on the couch.

Long periods of sitting can cause hip muscles to tighten up in the sitting position; muscles that need to be mobile for us to function with many daily activities such as walking, running, squatting, bending over to pick objects up, and even standing.  Not only will it affect how we move, but this typically leads to nagging (but preventable) injuries such as lower back pain, knee pain, and hip pain.  In other words, "sitting is the new smoking".

The first solution you can probably think of is to get up and move more often; or sit less.  But for those who's life requires them to sit more often, here are a few quick stretches you can do easily with minimal equipment.  These stretches will help loosen up three of the main muscle groups that tighten up when sitting.

PIRIFORMIS STRETCH
Perform this stretch by crossing one leg over the other so that your ankle is just above your knee, on your thigh as in a "figure 4" position.  Trying to bend at your waist, lower your chest forward until you feel a stretch in your outer hip (of the crossed leg)

HIP FLEXOR STRETCH

Perform this stretch by having one leg out in front of you and the other behind you.  Trying to bend the front knee, but not the back knee, lower your hip towards the ground.  Think of squeezing your butt forward.  Use a desk, stable chair, or wall for support as this stretch requires some balance.

HAMSTRING STRETCH

This stretch can also be performed standing, but for this version sit on a chair with one leg stretched out in front of you.  With minimal bending of your back and your toe pointed towards your head or the ceiling, bend at the waist and reach for your toe.

There is more to it, but these are some quick stretches to get you started.  On average, we'd like to spend about 30 seconds per stretch on each side.  But if you have more time to devote to these stretches, more is better.  You can break it up however you need to (10 seconds 3 times, or 15 seconds twice, etc.).  Stretching should not be painful, but might be a little uncomfortable at first depending on your current flexibility.