Harmful Habits: 4 Things You’re Doing That Could Land You In Physical Therapy (Plus 3 Movements to Do Daily) by Brooks Rehabilitation

Doom-scrolling and sleeping on your stomach are two things that can have real detrimental effects on your body. Living a slow or sedentary lifestyle can cause problems that lead patients to seek physical therapy with Mallory Behenna, PT, DPT, an orthopedic physical therapist. 

While moving your body is good in general, targeting specific areas prone to issues is better. “We naturally lose bone mineral density as we age, and if we stop moving or loading our bodies and bones, that process can be accelerated,” said Mallory. “Motion is lotion. Movement at a joint helps distribute and produce more synovial fluid, the fluid within the joint that helps with joint surface lubrication. Having adequate synovial fluid allows the bones to move on one another with little friction, thus reducing overall pain and inflammation and promoting better mobility.”

Here are four harmful habits you need to stop doing:

1. Doom-scrolling

The average American adult spends roughly nine hours and 20 minutes in front of a screen every day, and this vast amount of screen time has resulted in growing cases of tech neck or “text neck,” referring to neck pain due to repetitive strain and improper positioning. Mallory warns that spending too much time hunched over your phone or computer has long-term effects on the spine, nerves and muscles.

“Rounded shoulders can cause and increase neck pain because the muscles that control the shoulder blade are not able to activate in this position,” said Mallory. “This causes the muscles on the top of the shoulder blades going into the neck to have to work harder to hold the arms in place, leading to tightness, limited range of motion, neck pain and headaches.”

This rising epidemic has highlighted the need for correct posture and ergonomic support when looking at screens for an extended period, along with regular stretching and movement to help ease muscles and improve range of motion.

2. Carrying Heavy Purses

Time to clean out that purse! Mallory says that carrying heavy purses, bags or briefcases on one side can be detrimental to your posture.

“Holding a very heavy weight on just one side can be beneficial when done correctly; we even use it as an exercise. However, it can also be detrimental if you cannot maintain a neutral position against the weight,” said Mallory. “This puts more stress on the neck, shoulders, thoracolumbar spine and core muscles, which can cause or exacerbate pain.”

3. Sleeping on Your Stomach

“I actually love sleeping on my stomach; it is by far my most comfortable position,” said Mallory. “But sleeping on the stomach puts the neck at the end-range of rotation and holds it there for hours, causing more strain on the muscles, joints, and discs in the neck. It can also potentially affect blood flow depending on the range of motion held.”

Despite being an occasional stomach-sleeper, Mallory says that it is much safer to sleep on your side or back with pillows supporting the neck in a neutral position.

4. Using the Wrong Size Keyboard

Two-thirds of employed Americans use a keyboard for their job, and using a wrongly sized keyboard can mean long-term health issues, such as carpal tunnel, repetitive strain injury and even spinal dysfunction.

If it’s too wide, it can cause your posture to be off-center and cause strain, which is commonly seen in people using large gaming keyboards. On the other hand, if it’s too small, this can cause shoulder and chest strain. To avoid this, adopt an ergonomic office setup that supports your frame and size.

Here are three movements you should be doing every day: 

1. Plank

While many consider planks an ab exercise, doing a plank each day offers immense benefits to your overall health, mobility and posture. “Planks work your core stability and endurance, which helps with overall balance and stability as well as protecting your spine,” said Mallory.

How to do it: Get into a push-up position, with your body in a straight line from head to toe. Don’t let the hips come up too high or sag down too far. Aim to stay in position for 60 seconds and then set longer goals over time.

2. Step Ups

People tend to use one leg more than the other when performing daily activities, like going up a flight of stairs, resulting in unbalanced leg strength. Mallory recommends working the legs individually each day to avoid mobility problems later down the line from a weaker leg.

“Single-leg strengthening is often neglected, but it is very important as we do single-leg functional activities every day, including stepping up curbs or ascending and descending stairs,” said Mallory. “We can develop a preference over time as to which limb leads in these activities, leading to an asymmetry of strength in the left versus right leg resulting in an overall imbalance or instability.”

How to do it: Using the bottom of a staircase or a sturdy stepstool (4 to 8 inches tall), step up onto one leg. Use hand supports on a railing/counter if you feel imbalanced. Slowly lower yourself back down, then step back up. Repeat 10 to 15 times for three sets on each leg. To make this movement more challenging, you can bring your knee toward your chest as you step up.

3. Side-Lying Hip Abduction

When you take a step, your hip abductors keep you stable. These muscles contract to stabilize your femur and prevent your hip from dropping as you put your weight on the stance leg. A side-lying hip abduction activates your hip abductors and strengthens them, which can help prevent a wide range of ailments, especially those that develop with aging.

“The hip abductors are very important for stability with walking,” said Mallory. “When they’re weak, you can see the hip drop either away from or toward the weak side, which affects safety with walking and can lead to pain in the hips or lower back if prolonged over time.”

How to do it: Lie down on one side of your body. Bend the bottom knee and keep the top knee straight. Lift the top, straight leg in the air, keeping your heel slightly behind your hip (you should not be able to see your toes at any point). Lower back down. Repeat 10 to 15 times, for three sets. 

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