How a Chiropractor Can Help Reduce the Health Effects of Sitting All Day Long

Nowadays, people spend a lot of time sitting. The reasons behind it can be various: office work, leisure activities (social media, watching TV, playing video games), laziness, or for many people it has simply become a consistent bad habit. Although it may seem like a harmless activity, when it reaches a certain degree, it can start to seriously affect our health. Spending more than 8 hours sitting per day is not good for our health. As human beings, our bodies are designed to be challenged with regular meaningful movement.

Let’s see what the health effects of a sedentary lifestyle are and how a chiropractor can help reduce these effects.

What Are the Negative Health Effects of a Sedentary Lifestyle?

Unfortunately, every segment of our life can be affected by a sedentary lifestyle. In fact, it can have repercussions in more areas of our lives than we may initially realize. Sitting all day long can lead to the following symptoms:

• Flexibility issues
• Poor spine and bone health (there is an increased risk of osteoporosis due to lack of bone growth stimulation)
• Chronic pain in multiple areas of the body (most often neck and back pain)
• Obesity, being overweight, and low metabolism
• Low energy
• Trouble sleeping
• Compromised immunity
• Higher risk of chronic diseases (for example, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes)
• Higher risk of some types of cancer (such as colon and breast cancer)
• Anxiety
• Depression
• An overall lower quality of life
• How Can a Chiropractor Help?

When you spend several hours a day sitting in front of the laptop or slumping into your couch watching Netflix, your body will probably take a position that is more comfortable for you but harmful for your spine. This poor posture can harm your health in many ways and exacerbate the factors we just discussed. Plus, it can cause issues in the flow of nerve energy due to spine misalignment. Since nerve energy is the vital life force that drives every basic body function, any disruption can majorly affect your health.

Spine misalignment is not always easy to detect without the guidance of a spine health professional. Chiropractors are spine experts and can help reduce the health effects of a sedentary lifestyle as they address spine health with holistic methods. Plus, their holistic approach to restoring spine alignment and overall health will help any other factors that are affecting your health. For example, a previous car accident or fall can cause a spine misalignment that leads to pain and leaves you feeling unmotivated to stay active.

Other Lifestyle Factors that Can Exacerbate Health Problems

Unfortunately, as Americans we have become accustomed to a plethora of bad habits that extend far beyond being sedentary. There are many other lifestyle factors and extenuating circumstances that can ultimately affect our ability to live life the way we want. The symptoms we just reviewed above can be initiated or further exacerbated by many other factors. These include, but are now limited to, the following:

• Poor stress management skills
• Bad sleep hygiene and habits causing chronic exhaustion
• Low nutrient density diets
• Any type of injury, caused by overuse, falls, and car accidents
• Onset of chronic pain

Thankfully, many of these factors can be managed with simple lifestyle changes. However, it can feel exceedingly difficult to change habits that are deeply ingrained into our lifestyles. Thus, it’s important to start small and set goals that are meaningful to you. Having support, whether it’s from an accountability partner, community, or healthcare professional, can also give you an upper hand. Additionally, for factors that are more out of our control, such as injury or pain, getting professional help is a must for getting your health back on track.

Chiropractic Care for All Your Holistic Health Needs

If you would like to negate the health effects of constant sitting, or any other bad habit you’ve developed, it’s time to find a chiropractor. This is of particular importance if you’ve ever experienced any previous high impact injuries like a car accident that put major strain on the spine.

A chiropractor can effectively treat your spine issues sustainably and non-invasively. As your energy levels increase (and as any symptoms like pain or weakness improve), you will notice a gradual increase in your motivation levels and ability to make lifestyle changes. The team at North Alabama Spine and Rehab in Huntsville and Decatur, AL is dedicated to helping you feel your absolute best. Plus, most importantly, they can help you address any previous injuries that were never formally addressed. This will help you put your best foot forward for being more active and enjoying life to the fullest. Give their office a call today and schedule a consultation to see how they can help you with your lifestyle goals.