Sitting at your desk all day got you down and out? Walk and Stretch!!!

I was just asked the question, "Does working in an office, sitting all day, contribute to (muscle and skeletal) misalignment? can it be prevented (and or) corrected?"

My answer was "Absolutely, if you sit improperly for hours at a time, eventually your body will think that is "normal" and stay there. You know when you ride in a car for hours and it's hard to walk and you need to stretch when you get out? If you stay in those positions long enough, your body will stay like that. I suggest getting up and walking around as much as possible at work. Stretch too. In fact, I am going to write an article on this right now." 

And here I am.

I have been preaching this stuff for years. It's a gradual problem, you don't notice it at first, but when you do, it's usually too late and you have a lot of correcting to do. That's why I promote the "nip it in the bud" approach. Stay on it. A little massage here and there and a trip to a chiropractor once in a while can save you a lot of heart ache and pain in the long run. Side note: I suggest seeing chiropractors that are experienced with ART (Active Release Technique) which involves working on muscles and breaking up scar tissue more than crunching bones back into place. You see, the tight muscles are what's pulling your skeletal structure out of line.  So shoving a bone into place with tight muscles is just like trying to park your car in a garage that's too small.....it don't fit there!!!!

So, let's answer the question. You work at a desk all day, your whole body is tight and your back hurts, now what?  What the heck do you do? I suggest getting up at least every hour and moving around. Shift those hips side to side, maybe get a good quad stretch going, or at least try to touch your toes. I am a big advocate of walking, go for a 5 minute walk on your breaks. I believe that during walking, the body will correct itself. I'm not saying you'll be fixed over night or it will cure you of your mild scoliosis. I'm just saying the tight stuff will loosen up and the muscles will relax a bit and your body will hopefully start to realign itself. So, go for a walk. Feel better. Plus, it will relieve some stress too. Walk on and good luck.