Two Unintended Mistakes

I will envetabely upset numerous people with this post but since when do I take into consideration what people will think about the presumed truth.

Chairs and Shoes might be the worst things to happen to our bodies.

Chairs historically were designed to place someone apart from the masses.  A throne or litter (human powered transport) were nothing more than glorified chairs.  For the most part the rest of the human race was rarely in a chair.  Work was done standing, resting was done reclining on a bed or the ground, and transportation was done by walking or riding an animal (which is not just sitting).

Being bipedal beings we are designed for basically three postures: Standing, Squatting, and Laying.  But as you can see most of our day is filled with sitting.  When we sit we remove our natural defenses to gravity and normal force (the equal and opposite force that the earth applies back on us).  These include our feet and ankles which pronate or elongate to cushion force, the bowing of our largest bone in the body the femur to redirect force outward, and our pelvis which does the same (there are more but we will minimize the details).  So essentially, when we sit we're in 150% gravity on our lumbar spine as opposed to 100% while we're standing.  In addition, we are in constant hip and pelvic flexion when we sit for prolonged period which can change the natural mechanisms in our hips, knees, lumbar spine, and feet.

Think of how many hours you sit a day.  Driving, working in front of a computer, watching T.V., eating, using the restroom are the ones I can immediately think of but there are much more. 

Did you know that in Eastern culture they don't have sitting or comfort toilets.  They squat, like we were designed to.  And it has been found that squatting to defecate can decrease potential bowel diseases.  When we sit they are muscles that aren't relaxed, specifically our pelvic flour muscles which need to relax in order to let go of waste.

Now I know you're not going to stop sitting.  Frankly, I have an indescribable love for my couch and other inanimate objects that I plant myself on.  My point is that we need to limit our sitting time on a daily basis.  If you're going to sit try a ball or chair that moves.  And walk every now and then.  I know the weather is crappy but it wouldn't hurt to walk. 

I will touch on shoes in the next few days.