7 unhealthy habit that may cause body ache

Our remote ancestors had a lot of problems – hunger, lethal illnesses, parasites, sabre-toothed tigers… Almost none of us will get familiar with those “old-fashioned” troubles. However modern life brings its own “surprises”, which gradually and unnoticeably at first ruin our health. One of those “silent pests” is a sedentary lifestyle and postures accompanying it. Overextending our neck while working at the PC, losing ourselves in binge watching, wearing uncomfortable shoes, clutching our jaws while being stressed… Let’s take a look at all the posture features that can do harm to our joints.

1.Raised Shoulders

Unwillingly we overextend our neck, shoulder and upper back muscles each time we face stressful and frightening situations. We pull our heads in just like turtles. Constant disturbing background worsens muscle clamps, making this pose regular and – unfortunately damaging to health. So what is the damage about?

If muscles, bones and ligaments are misplaced – daily body loads are not distributed evenly the way they should be. This leads to joint degeneration, ligament and tendon inflammations, micro injuries of soft tissues, chronic pains.  According to the 2017 study «The Link between Depression and Chronic Pain: Neural Mechanisms in the Brain» –  almost 85% of people with chronic pains (including arthritis) suffer from depression as well. It is not always easy to track the cause and the consequences: whether the pain causes the depression or depression leads to chronic pain… Sometimes both these factors fuse and increase each other.  When we feel pain the body goes into an adrenaline hit-and-run mode, but if the pain is constant – the battle in our body becomes perpetual. Such physiological state provokes the development of depression, which in its turn causes more muscle clamps, which inflicts more pain – and so on, in an upward spiral.

What can help?

• stress control
• therapy for depression and anxiety (including medicinal treatment)
• self-awareness
• exercising relaxation
• strengthening core muscles to correct posture.

2. Arched “text” neck

Smartphones have changed the world. Along with that they gave us problems with our necks and spines. The situation became so common, that such expression as “text neck” or “smartphone neck” appeared in the medical slang. That’s how they call cervical spine problems (often irreversible) which are linked to constant and long-term use of gadgets. When we tilt our head towards the screen, the neck and upper back bend which leads to postural pain, fatigue, abnormal muscle strain, spasms, and even migraines. A separate issue can flow out of the habit of talking on the phone, pressing it with your ear to your shoulder.

The scientists of the 2012 research «Understanding tablet use: a multi-method exploration» noted, that the biggest neck tilt (and as a result the highest impact on the spine) is caused by watching the media content from the gadget placed on the lap. Slightly lighter case but nonetheless significant one – texting and surfing the net.

“Text Neck” symptoms can be the following:

1. Neck pain
2. Pain, radiating from a particular spot on the neck, shoulder blade or arm
3. Numbness or tingling in the hand, palm, or fingers
4. Weakened arms and shoulders
5. Rigid neck and shoulders
6. Inability to raise the head after a long time staring down at the screen

What can help?

• increase the viewing angle using a holder, stand or other support for the smartphone
• use of headphones/hands free devices
• keeping fit and strengthening muscles
• regular breaks from smartphone usage
• use a special roller while lying down or sleeping
• posture control when using a gadget (for example, lowering your gaze without tilting your neck)
• physiotherapy.

3. Clenched jaw

Constantly clenching teeth may cause discomfort and resonate with the ache in ears, face, neck and head – especially while chewing and yawning. Limited range of motion, stiffness, clicking, and other symptoms may occur. The cause can be found both in medical and behavioral origins.  The former include temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction, bruxism, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis. The latter include excessive chewing (such as chewing gum) and clenching of the jaws due to stress and anxiety. Scientists already have noticed the increase of frequency of jaw pain cases during the COVID 19 pandemic («Temporomandibular Disorders and Bruxism Outbreak as a Possible Factor of Orofacial Pain Worsening during the COVID-19 Pandemic—Concomitant Research in Two Countries»), as stress grinding teeth can worsen TMJ dysfunction and bruxism.

What can help?

• exercises aiming to relax the jaws and facial muscles
• wearing a special mouth guard, especially if the stiffness of the jaw is caused by stress clenching or bruxism
• face and jaw massage
• stress levels control
• prescribed by a doctor muscle relaxants and antidepressants
• botox injections
• stretching exercises for the neck and shoulder joint
• acupuncture
• breathing exercises
• physical and sport activities
• yoga and meditation
• use of smartphone apps that remind you to relax your jaw
• avoid excessive chewing

4. Walking on tippy toes.

Wearing shoes on high heels – is more of a bad habit, rather than a static pose. But it is absolutely necessary to mention how damaging it can be for joints.

Putting high heels on we literally stand on tippy toes, which overextends muscles, putting excessive stress on joints along with harming the spine. In “Implications of high-heeled shoes on body posture of adolescents”, the researchers noted that wearing high heels shifts the center of gravity and proper balance of the body, which in its turn leads to poor posture, lumbar hyperlordosis, anteversion of the hip joints and hallux valgus of the knee joints. Scientists got the focus on teenagers, whose bodies’ are more vulnerable to all sorts of deformations. However the negative impact is noticeable for adults as well. In «Influence of high-heeled shoes on the sagittal balance of the spine and the whole body» the affect of high-heeled shoes on cervical lordosis, thoracic kyphosis and dorsal-sacral angle is noted.

What can help?

• wearing shoes with flat sole
• avoid footwear that fixates feet in unnatural positions
• physical activity and strengthening of core muscles

5. Hours of sitting at the table

And not only at the table. We deeply underestimate, how much we sit and how badly it impacts our body. A regular office worker spends nearly 15 hours per day («Too much sitting — a health hazard»), which leads to the misbalanced and slowed down metabolism, gaining weight, increased risk of diabetes, insulin resistance, heart disease and many other health disorders. There is a direct link found between the sedentary lifestyle and early mortality («Sedentary Time and Its Association With Risk for Disease Incidence, Mortality, and Hospitalization in Adults»). Spending nearly all the time in a sitting position affects joints as well. Particularly vulnerable are the sacroiliac joints connecting the thigh and sacrum. They are held in place by tight ligaments and are not very mobile, unlike the knee or elbow joints, so injury or repeated stress (and long sitting can be considered as such) inflicts soreness, inflammation and stiffness. Since sitting among office workers is often related to working in front of a PC (with the specific position of the head) – vertebrae, shoulder girdle and neck may also suffer.

What can help?

• regular physical activity
• breaks for walks and stretching throughout the working day
• reduction of the time spent sitting
• use of special table for standing work
• control of correct posture

6. Hunchback

Poor posture  — a real scourge of modern society. The problem is not just aesthetic:

the correct position of the skeletal muscles evenly distributes the daily load on the joints, maintaining their health and integrity. Hunched body position is fraught with muscle spasms, asymmetry, overstrain of certain groups and joints, headache and chronic pain, curvature of the spine, injuries and imbalance («The effect of the forward head posture on postural balance in long time computer based worker»). Hunchback  often worsens with other “bad” posture features, including the ones we have already enumerated.

What can help?

• stretching exercises, particularly directed on your back, neck, chest and core in general.
• strengthening skeletal muscles
• correct posture control
• practising yoga

7. Sitting crossed-legged

Sitting on a chair in a crossed-legged position may lead to a chronic muscle and joint pain, as well as endangering the regular blood circulation in legs, up to an increased risk of blood clots. Moreover, it’s not just that the hips may start to hurt – sitting crossed-legged for a long period of time may tilt the spine, disturb the load distribution, can lead to varicose veins, temporary high blood pressure and nerve damage.

What can help?

• avoiding crossing legs
• frequent change of sitting positions
• control of the straight position of the spine.

Technical and scientific progress make our lives easier and more comfortable. However, it is important to remember, that from physiological point of view we haven’t changed too much in past 20 000 years. Our body needs appropriate physiological load for good health and functionality, while excess comfort can be harmful.