The spine of a person, like the structure of a house, is responsible for supporting all the weight of the body. All the positions and activities of the body including sitting, lying, running, and jumping, depend on the support of the spine. In fact, the spine is responsible for our health in addition to supporting the body. Unfortunately, people lack the idea of health care of the spine, often treating the common problems such as back pain and humpback as external appearance problems, rather than think it is “sick”, which makes the imbalance of the body more and more serious.
The spine is the control center of the human body
A section of the spine is folded up, it is called the spine. Spine is the main axis of human skeleton and the control center of all activities. Besides supporting the human body structure, the spine is also the most important branch to protect the spinal cord. The spine is composed of 33 vertebrae, including 7 cervical vertebrae, 12 thoracic vertebrae, 5 lumbar vertebrae, 5 sacra, and a caudal bone composed of 4 tail vertebrae. The vertebrae will form the foramen, which is the outlet of spinal cord nerve, so that the spinal cord nerve can smoothly convey the information of the body up and down and maintain the operation and function of the body.
In normal condition, there are 4 physiological bends in the spine, which are S-shaped from the side, namely,the curvature of cervical , thoracic vertebrae , lumbar and sacral .
Suppose that today, a spinal cord is under pressure imbalance, which will directly compress the adjacent spinal cord nerve, and also affect the transmission of nerve information. The main reason for the imbalance of spine pressure is the bad posture, gait, posture, collision, injury, etc.
1. long squatting: picking vegetables, washing clothes, wiping the ground, etc.
Main harm: lumbar spine, sacroiliac joint, hip joint, knee joint.
Some scientific results show that the weight of knee is almost zero when lying flat. When standing up and walking peacefully, the burden is 1-2 times of weight, running is 4 times, while squatting and kneeling are 8 times. In clinical, women with knee disease are more than men, because women squat more times in life than men, such as squatting washing clothes, choosing vegetables, wiping the ground, etc.
Caution: Elderly and obese people try not to squat or reduce squatting time, not more than 20 minutes. Senior citizens while squatting ought to hold the table or chair to reduce knee pressure.
2. wear messenger bag
Main harm: shoulder joint, cervical vertebra, thoracic vertebrae.
Wearing shoulder bag can make our shoulders ache, and the shoulders get high on one side than another, for the shoulder on the load side will always be habitually lifted and retracted to prevent the strap from falling. In the long run, there will also be scoliosis. Students in the bone growth and development stage are more vulnerable.
Caution: If the textbook in the bag is very heavy, it is better to wear a backpack. For adults, on the way to work, if the road is short, you can carry a messenger bag, but it is better not to always use one shoulder, and you can shift the back on both sides or cross the back with a side. If the road is long, it is better to wear backpacks.
3. curl up: sleep, read or playing computer game in the sofa
Main harm: cervical spine and lumbar spine.
It is really relaxing to sit in the sofa or bed watching TV and playing mobile phones, but the irregular stress on the bones will also increase greatly. In the semi lying position, the lumbar spine lacks enough support, the original arc is forced to change, and the gravity of the disc is increased, which is harmful to the physiological structure of the lumbar spine and spine. Over time, it may lead to muscle strain, scoliosis or even induced lumbago, cervical spondylosis and lumbar disc herniation.
Caution: the correct sitting position is straight back and back, including chest and abdomen, flat legs, 90-degree angle between lower leg and thigh, sitting in the middle of chair, or leaning forward slightly, but do not lean on the left and right sides of the upper body. The best choice of the family is the hard texture sofa, sitting up will not fall in, rest after the waist is best to add a pillow, let it support the back waist to relax lumbar.
4. Lower the head: play on mobile phone, tablets or read newspaper
Main harm: cervical spine, wrist.
When people use mobile phones with their heads down, the cervical spine often bears more weight on the head, and the shoulders and neck are too tight and the burden of lumbar spine is increased. After becoming a “low head group”, it takes only five years for the coming of symptoms such as shoulder and neck muscle ache, back pain, cervical spondylosis and other symptoms. People who usually use computers will also encounter these problems.
Caution: look down at the phone for no more than 15 minutes, it is better to keep the phone flush or slightly lower with the head upright (not more than 15 degree angle at most）， Don’t have a hunchback with chest. File workers should develop the habit of getting up and moving per hour. Holding their back brain and head up four or five times, and then they can relax with chest enlargement and shoulder shrugging are very relaxing and helpful.
5. Lean over the table: write homework, play on mobile phone and nap
Main harm: cervical spine, thoracic vertebrae, shoulder joint.
Many workers are used to napping on the table at noon, which is harm to the physiological radian of cervical spine and will lead to Cervical problems. People with back pain or neck pain should not lie down to sleep, which will aggravate the condition. Long term napping can lead to: arm numbness, dyspepsia, cerebral ischemia, eye pressure, poor breath, cold, etc.
Reminder: it is best to lie flat on lunch break. If the conditions are not allowed, you can sit on a chair, put a cushion behind your waist, and lean back slightly, and take a simple rest; Or buy a nap pillow with breathing hole, and then put the face into the pillow, and adjust the height of the table and stool.
6. Stand with body leaning on one side: take and wait for a bus
Main harm: lumbar spine, hip joint, sacroiliac joint, knee joint.
Standing posture not only affects the image of human, but also is closely related to health. Many people like to stand at ease, put the body center on one leg, which surely relax yourself in a short time but will also cause pelvis skew, spine bending, back pain in a long time due to uneven stress on both sides of the lumbar spine.
Caution: it is necessary to keep correct standing position, keep chest up, head raise and arms droop naturally, and evenly distribute the whole-body weight on both legs, which is good for the bone stretching and smooth breathing.
7. Cross the legs: in offices, meal time or TV watching
Main harm: lumbar spine, sacroiliac joint, hip joint.
Crossing two legs press a long-term pressure to pelvis and hip joint, which makes them get ache easily and may also cause muscle strain as well as uneven pressure distribution of lumbar and thoracic, eventually causing spinal deformation, lumbar disc herniation and chronic low back pain.
Caution: keep the correct sitting position and try your best not to cross your legs. If it’s hard to quit in a short time, just try not to cross your legs for more than 10 minutes at a time, and shift both legs from time to time.
8. Bent the neck: make a phone call or sleep on the side
Main harm: cervical spine, neck and shoulder muscles.
When in busy business, someone tend to hold the phone between his head and neck. It is unknown that excessive force of cervical spine to one side may cause cervical muscle spasm and excessive fatigue, and thus increase risks of cervical spondylosis including neck acid swelling. If the pillow height and support are insufficient, those who are used to sleeping on the side will face the same problem. A long-term neck overbent can cause tension in the muscles of the neck and shoulders, resulting in pain, and even cervical spondylosis [numbness of upper limb].
Caution: it is better to hold it when you pick up the phone, and shift your hands every few minutes to avoid excessive tension of one side muscle.
9. Wry neck while standing: lifting heavy objects, tie the shoelaces or picking up things
Main harm: lumbar spine, posterior femoral muscle group, knee joint.
Many people have the experience of throwing his back out, clinically called acute lumbar sprains. Sometimes a bad posture can easily cause a sprain. When you bend to lift heavy objects with knees standing, the strength of the muscles around the hip and knee joints can hardly help. The fascia, muscles and ligaments of the back and waist tend to get injured due to the overload of the burden, which is also bad for the lumbar spine.
Caution: When lifting heavy objects, you should bend your knees and squat to make the object as close to your body as possible. Keep the spine vertical, support the body slowly with the muscle strength of the legs, and avoid moving suddenly. Once the waist hurts, it is better to lie on the bed with hard texture at the beginning, and could be treated with massage and acupuncture subsequently.
10. Long time in bed: watch TV or play on mobile phone
Main harm: cervical spine, shoulder and neck muscles, eyes.
Many people have the habit of playing on mobile phones before bedtime, like chatting with friends, brushing WeChat moments, watching series or movies, etc. which have a great harm to our cervical vertebra. Long time neck flexion can cause [neck back muscle ache] and [stiff neck]. Additionally, holding the mobile phone with arms can aggravate the fatigue of shoulder and neck muscles. If you scroll the screen in a dark light, it will also cause great damage to the vision.