It's no secret that many of us spend the majority of our waking hours sitting, primarily due to the demands of our jobs. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, remote work has become the norm for many, often leading to makeshift office setups. Your "office" might be your dining table or a spare room converted into a workspace.

This article aims to provide insights and practical tips to help you become a better sitter, given the extended hours you spend sitting during remote work. Prolonged sitting can have adverse effects on your posture, productivity, and susceptibility to painful musculoskeletal conditions such as lower back pain, neck pain, headaches, shoulder pain, and hip and knee pain.

1: Understanding the Process of Unconscious Body Misuse

Many people attempt to counteract the effects of prolonged sitting by engaging in exercise activities such as yoga, pilates, group fitness classes, or personal training. However, these well-intentioned efforts often fail to address the root cause of these problems: unconscious body misuse.

Unconscious body misuse refers to the execution of daily movements that deviate from the structural and functional design of the human body. It includes behaviors like slouching while sitting or bending at the waist instead of the hip, knee, and foot/ankle joints. To grasp the difference between efficient and inefficient body use, it's crucial to have a basic understanding of the human body's structural and functional design.

2: Understanding the Structural and Functional Relationships of the Human Body

To distinguish between good and poor body use, it's essential to be familiar with the basic structural and functional relationships of the body. The human body's structure is organized into three main regions: the core kinetic chain (CKC), the lower limb kinetic chain (LLKC), and the upper limb kinetic chain (ULKC).

The CKC, comprising the pelvis, spine, and head, serves as the foundation of your body's structural framework. Both the LLKC (hip joints, knee joints, foot/ankle joints) and the ULKC (shoulder girdles, shoulder joints, elbow joints, wrist/hand joints) are connected to and influenced by the CKC.

Maintaining a well-balanced and dynamic CKC is essential for better sitting and overall movement. These three kinetic chains interact dynamically, meaning changes in one can affect the others. For instance, slouching while sitting can impact the function of your neck and shoulder joints, leading to discomfort and pain.

3: Developing Body Awareness

Improving body awareness is the third key to becoming a better sitter. Often, we get into trouble because we fail to notice subtle body cues associated with poor posture and movement habits. Poor posture results from two fundamental issues: not moving our bodies enough and moving them in ways that deviate from their structural design.

Body awareness is the result of the information your brain receives from your environment and your body's response to it. In terms of movement, how much and how you move significantly impact your perception of the world. Think of body awareness as the nourishment (movement) your brain requires.

4: Establishing Connection and Direction

The fourth and final step to becoming a better sitter involves establishing a connection between the floor or ground and your body. This connection plays a crucial role in maintaining the structural and functional organization of your body as designed. Sitting essentially involves the interaction between your body and the ground. The stronger and clearer this interaction, the better your sitting experience.

Two body regions form this connection with the ground: your feet and your sitting bones through your chair's legs. Try this exercise: while sitting in your chair, press the entire surface of your feet into the floor. Perform this exercise while slouched and in your best upright posture. Observe how your body responds, and compare your experiences between these two sitting postures.

What's Next?

These are the four essential steps to becoming a better sitter. This article provides an overview, but I plan to delve deeper into each of these steps in separate articles. If you have any questions or concerns about this information, please don't hesitate to reach out via email: richard@humoma.com.

Until next time,

Rick