Beyond crossing your legs… ‘This posture’ is toxic to your back health

During the winter, when we tend to curl up, many people complain of back pain. In cold weather, the body constricts blood vessels and slows down the autonomic nervous system to conserve body heat. This reduces blood flow, causing muscles to tense. Spinal joints and cartilage also contract, reducing flexibility and making pain more likely. During these times, it's important to avoid even minor habits that can worsen back pain. Those suffering from arthritis or herniated discs should be especially careful.

 

◇Habits that cause back pain ▶Sedentary lifestyle

 

Cross-legged sitting on a hard floor can cause your pelvis to lean back too far, leading to a flat back. A flat back places stress on the area below the lumbar vertebrae, which can easily lead to back pain. Furthermore, sitting on the floor for long periods of time with your back bent can place a load on your lower back that's two to three times your body weight. This is especially true for those with a herniated disc, where the disc can push back and compress nerves, causing back and leg pain. If possible, sit in a chair. If you must sit on the floor, use a low-backed chair or position yourself against a wall.

▶Sit only on the edge of the chair

 

Even when sitting on a chair, many people don't fully squat down, instead just sitting on the edge. This is not good. Sitting for extended periods of time can cause the load to be approximately 1.5 times greater than standing. This increases the strain on the spine and pelvis, making it more susceptible to various musculoskeletal disorders. When sitting, keep your buttocks firmly pressed against the back of the chair and your back straight. A good posture is to keep both feet flat on the floor to distribute some of your weight.

 

▶Lifting a heavy shopping cart

 

For middle-aged women with weakened spines and muscles, simply lifting heavy loads can significantly impact the lower back. Dr. Lee Jae-ik, director of the Orthopedic Surgery Department at Yonsei Hana Hospital, explains, "When you carry a heavy shopping bag in one hand, the shoulder on the side holding the bag involuntarily rises, and the muscles on the opposite side of the back support the weight of the bag like a lever." If this continues for a long time, muscle fatigue can build up, leading to ligament damage and lumbar sprains. If you need to buy a lot of groceries, consider using a wheeled cart rather than a shopping bag.

 

▶Sleep face down

 

Sleeping on your stomach or side is bad for both your neck and back. This causes your neck to bend and eliminates the spine's natural S-curve. When lying down, face up and place a pillow under your neck and knees to maintain proper spinal alignment. The pillow should be no more than 10cm high to prevent neck bending and provide adequate relaxation. However, those with spinal stenosis may benefit from sleeping in the "shrimp" position. Lying on your side with a pillow between your knees to create a natural curvature in your lower back can help widen the spinal canal and improve symptoms.

 

▶Crossing your legs

 

The habit of crossing your legs can cause pain by distorting the spine and pelvis, which are the core of the body. According to a research team from the Department of Sports Medicine at Sungkyunkwan University, the spinal curvature angle of the group that did not cross their legs was 10.5 degrees, while the spinal curvature angle of the group that did cross their legs was 12.8 degrees. This can irritate the nerves and lead to conditions such as pelvic pain, lower back pain, herniated discs, and scoliosis. To break the habit of crossing your legs, it is effective to place a footstool under your chair when sitting at your desk and put your feet on it. It is also helpful to keep the desk and chair as close together as possible and use armrests to distribute the weight of your body weight to your arms.

 

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I'm not sleeping face down,

Even if I sleep on my side, my back feels uncomfortable in the morning.

The legs were originally shaking

I have a habit of not twisting things

That's fortunate