If sitting down for long periods is bad for us, then why is walking or standing up all day cause lower back pain?
In: Biology
People are meant to move in a variety of ways. Walking or standing all day – like you would at work – is super repetitive. This causes 3 problems: (1) muscles tightness; (2) some muscles (those in constant use) being overworked; and (3) other muscles being *under*worked (like certain core muscles that, you guessed it, help support the spine and pelvis)
We’re not ‘designed’ (not a super great word but you get what I mean) to do *anything* for long periods of time.
Standing, sitting, walking, running, jumping, climbing, standing on our heads, rolling over and over and over.
We can do all of these things. But if we do them repeatedly, it’s bad for us. The key is *moderation and variety*, just like in nutrition.
Interestingly enough, walking with correct posture is actually what we can tolerate the most of. Humans are great at walking. We can out-walk anything on the planet. But eventually, even we need to switch it up.
Not really the explanation you want, but I have to point out that a healthy person should be able to stand or walk all day without having lower back pain.
There are many reasons people will experience lower back pain after a day of standing/walking–bad posture, weak muscles, unsupportive shoes, harsh terrain (i.e. concrete), excess body fat, etc.–but one major reason so many Americans have lower back pain is that they never stretch. Stretching at the end of the day (especially your legs) can be really effective at preventing/alleviating lower back pain.
This isn’t an inevitable law of nature. It’s a sign that there’s a physical problem that should be addressed.
The idea is, you shouldn’t be in a position for prolonged periods of time. Whether it is standing up, walking, sitting, etc.
Anecdotal I know but as someone who has had jobs that rely on either sitting all day or walking and standing all day, my lower back pain was far worse from sitting all day.
Feet is a different matter.
Answer: everything in moderation. And also bad posture.
Basically, we’re built to be in *motion*, but too much motion causes excess wear and tear – worse still if we have bad posture. That’s why we’re encouraged to get up every 15 minutes or so if we work at a desk, and why long-distance runners have to pay very close attention to their form to avoid excess motion.
I didn’t see any correct answers, so might as well give my input. I apologize if I just missed it. Also, english isn’t my first language so I apologize if it’s clunky.
Walking and standing upright requires contant balancing, and that’s the spines job. That’s why we have so many vertebrae, even though smaller structures are more prone to breaking. Balancing is so important that we have given up stronger and bigger bones for precise movement and compensation. Basically what we all need is that our feet are on the ground and that our eyes are level. Spine will always try to get to this point.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s address your question. The battle against sitting has been lost long ago. We sit way too much and are way too passive anyway. Also for many of us, our daily exercising(or moving in general) doesn’t compensate for the positions we spend a lot of time in ie. sitting. And muscles always adapt to what you give them, so if you sit a lot, your adductors and hip flexors, mostly pectineus and iliacus respectively, will shorten. Now, when you stand up, those muscles will stay short and your pelvis tilts anteriorilly (belly comes forward). Now your lower back has to compensate for you tilting forwards by doing more work to balance your posture. This leads to more pronounced curves in your back, stronger lordosis in lower back and neck and kyphosis in thoracic area.
Now that was just about the forward-backwards line. Of course, your back will also compensate for left-right changes, so if you exert one side more than the other, spine will compensate this with a functional scoliosis. That’s very different from structural scoliosis. Basically everyone is a bit crooked like this but those who sports (football, hockey, golf, etc.) are more pronounced. This is also why the discs rupture in the long run.
ELI5: As someone else already mentioned, doing anything for too long is bad. We’ve just been sitting for too long for too many years the pain is from trying to keep the posture upright.
Source: I do this for a living
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