Football Season is Coming! How to Avoid Back Problems from Sitting on the Couch
If you’re a football fan, you most likely spend your Sundays and Monday nights plunked on the sofa, watching your favorite teams battle it out on the field. While you and your family or your best buds may have a lot of fun spending hours in front of the TV, all of this sitting is doing a doozy on your back!
Did you know that sofas, or rather, too much time spent sitting on the sofa, is being blamed for a rise in back problems? In your grandparents’ day, sofas were stiffer and helped you to sit upright. But these days, most of us opt for those sofas that are soft and squishy and oh-so-comfy.
The problem is, soft, comfy sofas encourage us to recline, slouch and sit in positions that are not good for our spines. And we tend to sit in these positions for HOURS!
What Happens to Our Back with Poor Posture?
Sitting comfortably seems like a natural, no-brainer thing to do. The problem is, when we are sitting with poor posture, our back muscles and vertebrae are not supported efficiently. Sitting without this support for lengthy periods of time puts a tremendous amount of pressure on our spine and muscles. In time, this can cause our intervertebral discs to be pushed out of alignment. And this can cause that dreaded lower back pain.
How to Properly Sit on Your Sofa This Football Season
If your back has been bothering you and you’re not sure why, start noticing how you sit on the sofa. Are you slouched down with your head resting against the back of the sofa? Or slouched with your feet extended on a nearby ottoman? Or twisted into a kind of fetal position? These positions may feel comfy for a little while, but they are wreaking havoc on your back.
Do your best to ensure you are sitting way back, with your butt touching the back cushions and your feet planted on the floor. If you need to, support your back further with more cushions. You can even use a rolled-up towel to support your lower back.
Be sure to get up during the ads and do some light stretching. Pretend the coach is putting you in the game after the commercials!
Paying better attention to your posture and how you are sitting on your sofa while watching the games should definitely help any back pain you have been experiencing. But we also recommend you make an appointment with your local chiropractor to get checked out and receive a spinal adjustment.
If you live in the area and would like to get a free consultation, just give our office a call or stop by!
SOURCES:
‘I’m a Chiropractor and This Is Why Working From Your Couch Is Hurting Your Back’
https://www.healthline.com/health/lower-back-pain-when-sitting#causes