Suzanne's Mom's Blog

Photo: Jean Couch
A man in Rajasthan, India, sits at his loom, weaving for hours each day with exemplary posture. He untucks his pelvis and elongates his spine. Check out the gif showing how people elsewhere sit differently from Americans.

I have had back pain off and on for decades. I do physical therapy exercises every day to keep it in check, and in recent years I have focused on not sitting too much. Sitting is bad, doctors say. “Get up and walk around at least every 20 minutes.”

But come to find out, it isn’t sitting that is bad, it’s the way Americans sit. Other countries have very little back pain.

Michaeleen Doucleff writes at National Public Radio, “My back hurts when I sit down. It’s been going on for 10 years. It really doesn’t matter where I am — at work, at a restaurant, even on our couch at home. My lower back screams, ‘Stop sitting!’

“To try to reduce the pain, I bought a kneeling chair at work. Then I got a standing desk. Then I went back to a regular chair because standing became painful. I’ve seen physical therapists, orthopedic surgeons and pain specialists. I’ve mastered Pilates, increased flexibility and strengthened muscles. …

“Then back in November, I walked into the studio of Jenn Sherer in Palo Alto, Calif. She is part of a growing movement on the West Coast to teach people to move and sit and stand as they did in the past — and as they still do in other parts of the world. For the past 8 years, Sherer has been helping people reduce their back pain.

“I was interviewing Sherer for a story about bending. But she could tell I was in pain. So I told her my story.

“Her response left me speechless: ‘Sitting is a place where you can find heaven in your joints and in your back,’ she says. ‘It’s not sitting that’s causing the pain, it’s how you’re sitting. …

“Anthropologist David Raichlen at the University of Arizona says [of the Hazda in Tanzania], ‘They do a lot of upper body work, [and] they spend quite a bit of time walking — at a pretty high rate of speed.’ ,,,

“But do the Hadza actually sit less than we do? A few years ago, Raichlen and colleagues decided to find out. They strapped heart-rate monitors onto nearly 50 Hadza adults for eight weeks and measured how often each day, they were just, well … sitting around. The results shocked Raichlen. ‘ The Hadza are in resting postures about as much as we Americans are,’ he says. …

“But here’s the thing: The Hadza don’t seem to have the back issues that we Americans have, even as they age. …

“Over the past century or so, many Americans have lost the art of sitting, [Orthopedic surgeon Nomi Khan] says. Most people in the U.S. — even children — are sitting in one particular way that’s stressing their backs. You might not realize you’re doing it. But it’s super easy to see in other people.

“Here’s how: Take a look at people who are sitting down – not face-on but rather from the side, in profile, so you can see the shape of their spine. There’s a high probability their back is curving like the letter C — or some version of C. …

“Sitting in a C-shape, over time, can cause disk degeneration. Or one side of a disk can start to bulge. …

“At Sherer’s studio, she pulls a up a photo of gray-haired man sitting at a loom. He must be at least in his 60s.

” ‘This is taken in Rajasthan, India,’ Sherer says. ‘The man sits at the loom weaving, for hours and hours every day, just like we do at a computer,’ she says. ‘And yet his spine is still elongated.’

“Elongated is an understatement. This man’s spine is straight as an exclamation point. His shoulders are rolled back. His muscles looked relaxed and flexible. …

“One of the problems, Sherer says, is our culture focuses on trying to fix the upper body. ‘Sit up straight,’ parents and teachers say, and most of us immediately stick our chests out. …

“Instead of focusing on the chest or shoulders, Sherer says, we need to turn our attention to a body part that is lower down, below the waist: the pelvis. ‘It’s like a stack of toy blocks. If the blocks at the bottom aren’t sturdy, then the top has no chance.’ …

“To figure out how to shift your pelvis into a healthier position, Sherer says to imagine for a minute you have a tail. If we were designed like dogs, the tail would be right at the base of your spine. … In other words, we need to untuck our tails. To do that, Sherer says, you need to bend over properly when you go to sit down. …

“If you bend at the waist, which many Americans do, then you will likely sit with a C or cashew shape. If you bend at the hips … you’re more likely to sit correctly with your tail untucked. …

‘” ‘Stand up and spread your heels about 12 inches apart,’ she says. Now, put your hand on your pubic bone — like a fig leaf covering up Adam in the Bible, she explains.

” ‘When you bend over, you want to let this fig leaf — your pubic bone — move through your legs,’ she says. ‘This creates a crease between your pelvis and legs.’

“This action also pretty much pokes your butt out, behind your spine. “Now go ahead, sit down,” Sherer says. …

“The next step is to relax the muscles in your back and chest. ‘Stop sticking out your chest,’ Sherer says. Then the rest of the spinal vertebrae can stack up in one straight line, like an I instead of a C.” More at NPR, here.

I’m really going to work on this.