While sitting can be very restful, keep in mind that staying in one position for a long time can cause strain and injury to your muscles and joints.  Sustained sitting can take a toll on your neck and low  back.  The steady compression on the discs will hinder their nutrition and contribute to early degeneration. Top Brantford ON chiropractor provides some helpful tips to help reduce stress on your back.

Take Frequent Breaks – make sure to take regular breaks from sitting.   Long periods of sitting at your job in Brantford are the hardest on your back.   Try to get up every 30 min or so, take a short walk around the office.

Posture – next pay attention to your posture.  Sitting incorrectly puts strain on your lower back and decreases blood flow to your working muscles will cause fatique.  Practice “active sitting” with your feet flat on the ground, your back straight, shoulders and your chin parallel with the floor.  This posture will strengthen your core muscles and make it easier to maintain good posture.

Choose a Good Office Chair – the most important thing to help prevent strain in your back is the ability to easily vary your sitting positions throughout the day.  The right office chair should

1. Be easily adjustable to your size
2. Adapt to support your spine in various working positions
3. Have a backrest that supports your lower back
4. Have a front edge that curves downwards to promote proper posture

Stability Ball – a common trend today is to use a stability ball at work.  While a stability ball is great tool to help strengthen your core it should not replace a good chair at your work station.

1. Use the stability ball only for short periods
2. Use your abdominal, back and side muscles to maintain your proper posture
3. Stop when your muscles feel tired

Please remember that a stability ball is not meant to replace your chair.  Sitting on a stability ball for too long can actually increase pressure on your spine, especially if your core muscles are already weak.

Call Total Chiropractic at (519) 756-8171 today to schedule an appointment.