Our bodies are designed to facilitate pain-free, everyday natural movement. However, according to Southern Cross Insurance, we now spend an average of 9.3 hours a day sitting down, which is longer than most of our nightly sleep, due to the high prevalence of sedentary employment and the availability of TV streaming services.
The amount of sitting we do may be harming our foot and leg health in addition to being detrimental to our ability to satisfy NZ's daily activity recommendations of at least 30 minutes.
You experience several types of pain, including hip, back, and leg discomfort. To relieve pain, you can use generic Lyrica medication.
Today, our Masterton podiatrists will discuss how and why extended sitting should be taken into consideration as a possible cause of leg discomfort, as well as what you can do about it.
THE IMPACT OF SITTING ON OUR BODY
Our muscles, bones, and joints may begin to experience abnormal pressure when we sit down. We'll discuss what this implies for the feet and legs later, but first, let's take a brief look at the image below to see what it could mean for our spine.
The pressure on our spine's intervertebral discs increases by 140% just by sitting in our seat. And when we hunch forward when sitting, as so many of us do, this pressure increases to 190% more than it would be if we were standing. It makes sense that so many New Zealanders are returning from work physically weary and experiencing back discomfort.
LEG PAIN AND SITTING
Leg discomfort with extended periods of sitting may be a sign of venous insufficiency, where our circulation is compromised by our sedentary lifestyle. When our veins aren't functioning properly to keep blood flowing from our legs to our hearts in an efficient manner, it's known as venous insufficiency. This condition makes it more difficult for the blood to do its job because it must constantly move against gravity without any physical activity to get our hearts pumping and encourage healthy blood flow. Instead, blood may collect in the legs and feet as a result, resulting in discomfort and edema. Usually, in the calves, the discomfort is characterized as a burning or cramping sensation. Visit Smartfinil on our website for additional details.
HOW MUCH SITTING IS TOO MUCH?
According to research, sitting for more than four hours a day dramatically raises your risk of developing diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other illnesses linked to fat.
From our perspective, patients with sedentary professions and little opportunities for mobility during the day are more likely to experience foot and leg discomfort and injury due to a generally sedentary lifestyle, weak muscles, or circulation issues.
WHAT OUGHT YOU TO DO?
The greatest method to help is to move around and take care of whatever pains you may already have, without sounding cliché. Although you have no influence on your job's nature, you can:
- the use of a standing desk
- every 30 minutes, taking a few minutes to stretch and stroll around
- Making the decision to walk to and from work
- Choosing to use the stairs rather than a lift
- Instead of getting your morning coffee in the same building, go a few blocks over
- establishing a regular workout schedule
- treating any current leg and foot discomfort that is preventing you from being active
Our podiatrists can assist if you are presently dealing with foot or leg pain that is restricting your capacity to be active. To help set you up for success and pain-free mobility in the future, we'll assist you heal from any injuries and adopt the proper treatment to strengthen and stretch weak or inflexible muscles. We provide the widest selection of cutting-edge, successfully tested therapies in Wairarapa to aid in your rehabilitation.
