The Health Consequences of Sitting All Day

The Health Consequences of Sitting All Day

Most people sit all day, every day. This is an unfortunate consequence of the advancement of society. The majority of us do not work in fields that are labor intensive. Our tools have evolved. We now use keyboards, mice, and hand-held “crack-berries”.

What consequence does this have on our health?

The most common manifestation of prolonged sitting is weakness in the gluteus maximus, otherwise known as the “buttocks”. The gluteus maximus under normal circumstances is the largest skeletal muscle in the body. It is a “work horse” muscle that powers walking, stair climbing, and countless other tasks. If the buttocks muscles are not required to work, you can easily develop lower back pain or hip bursitis.

Buttock weakness is easy to identify. One overt sign is visual atrophy. In many individuals we will see a lack of muscle bulk. At times a concavity can be seen where there should normally be a convexity in muscle tissue. Many people will also not be able to actively contract the buttocks while lying flat. Place your hand under your buttocks in the supine position (lying flat on your back) and see if you can make the buttocks contract. If you cannot elicit a strong contraction, you have a problem.

Another sign of buttock weakness can be seen when one tries to perform a “bridge”. Try this at home on a flat surface. (Always, make sure that you have the permission of your doctor to exercise before you do something like this.)

Lie flat on your back, bend your knees and keep your feet flat on the floor. Lift your pelvis approximately one foot off the floor by pushing through your feet. Hold this position for 10 seconds. Buttock weakness will often coincide with cramping of the hamstrings, or the back of the legs, in the bridge position.

For higher-level athletes, subtle buttock weakness can be seen when the bridging test is performed with only one leg supporting the body’s weight.

If you have identified weakness in your seat muscles, do something about it. It is very important that you start with the most basic of exercises and gradually increase the number of repetitions before you increase the complexity of the exercises. The most simple exercise to perform is the buttock squeeze. This exercise is portable: You can do this while seated or lying down. Simply tighten the buttocks and hold for a count of five seconds. Build up your repetitions until you can perform this 10 times.

For more advanced exercises seek out other resources. There is an abundance of online information on safe exercise techniques. Personal trainers and physical therapists are qualified to strengthen you in a safe manner.