Ever since prolonged sitting was correlated with life expectancy, sitting has been under fire.
Which is sad because personally, I love sitting!
Companies have implemented standing desks, and hundreds of ergonomic chairs have hit the market.
But is sitting really as evil as we think?
And could sitting for long periods of time be problematic for your pelvic floor issue?
Here's What I Think
Not necessarily. The issue is not so much sitting as it is any prolonged position without intermittent changes and movement.
We are not made to be in any one position for a long period of time. It's not the sitting that creates health issues for us, it's simply not moving enough.
The human body was unequivocally made to move. This doesn't necessarily mean we should be exercising constantly, it just means standing up, sitting down, walking around and even lying down should a part of your day.
Sitting for longer than 2-3 hours a day, day after day, certainly can add up, which is why I recommend changing positions every couple of hours.
Some issues I notice that arise from prolonged sitting postures include:
Weak abs and glutes
Forward head posture
Now these are certainly issues that can create some serious dysfunction. Let's go through them one-by-one.
Weak abs and glutes
Weakness in the abs and glutes can arise from a lot of sitting. This is often coupled with tension in the hip flexors and hamstring weakness or tightness.
The result is either a "bum tucked" pelvis or a big forward angled pelvis and low back sway, to help compensate for the weakness.
Wait! You ask, doesn't everyone have weak abs and glutes?
Yes! For the most part, everyone does. Even if you're a regular gym-goer who works tirelessly on hip thrusting!
We start sitting in school really young, so these issues probably developed a long time ago, and compensation patterns can be tough to treat.
Forward Head Posture
The forward head is a head that cranes forward in front of the rest of the body. This is accompanied by a rounded upper back and hunched shoulders.
This is also the result of prolonged slouched posture, that has overtime lengthened and inhibited the upper back muscles and overtightened the chest muscles.
This posture can create headaches, jaw dysfunction, neck and shoulder pain, and overtime create balance/equilibrium issues.
Believe it or not, this posture can also affect your core and pelvic floor. When the ribcage is slouched and closed off, our abdominal muscles are unable to fire appropriately.
There can definitely be other reasons for this besides sitting. In fact, most of my patients are NOT sitting (because we are moms), and forward head posture still shows up.
But for whatever reason your head is forward from your body, it can still
create pelvic floor issues!
So Is Sitting Bad For Your Pelvic Floor?
Sitting on its own is not bad or evil. Sitting without changing positions throughout your day, day after day, is a sedentary lifestyle, which can certainly be problematic when considering disease processes that arise from this lifestyle.
Prolonged sitting or slouching may lead to postural issues like a tucked bum or forward head, which can affect the pelvic floor.
There is no perfect posture to be in for prolonged periods of time. Our bodies were simply meant to move and change positions frequently. Any one position for a long period of time will result in some kind of dysfunction.
If you're wondering how to start countering prolonged sitting postures, contact us to book your consult today!
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Want to learn more about your pelvic floor or find out if pelvic floor physical therapy is for you? Make sure you check out our blog The Ultimate Guide to Know If Pelvic Floor PT is For You.