Understanding the effects of posture position on our spine -- specifically, our intervertebral disc pressure -- is key 🔑. This knowledge can take us a long way in preventing degenerative disc disease later in life. Many are surprised to learn that pressures on the vertebral discs are much higher when sitting than when standing or lying down. Truth is, some studies have shown that intervertebral disc pressure (see previous spine post ⏮) when seated is up to 10 times greater than when lying down! . It's still pretty easy to think "but I feel better when I sit down after standing for a long time..." So, two things: ☝️We've got to distinguish between the back muscles and intervertebral discs. When we stand for long periods, our disc pressure is relatively low, but we may still feel pain. This pain though is from fatigued lower back muscles. ✌️Increased pressure on the discs in itself doesn't necessarily cause immediate pain. We're often unaware of this pressure, which in the long term can lead to deformative changes in the disc.👎🏾 . So can sitting create higher pressures between our intervertebral discs than standing? 🤔The answer is YES because when we stand, our body weight is distributed over many structures like muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints. ⚡️🔥Once we sit down however, our abdominal and back muscles relax, causing the majority of our body weight to be taken on by the discs. Again, this likely won't lead to any pain while it's happening, but in the long run, prolonged periods of sitting and poor posture can result in degenerative osteoarthritic changes and subsequent nerve root impingement 🔥⚡️
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