Sitting may be silently killing your spine....Learning to squat may prevent back pain.

• Spine
• Muscles supporting spine and the pelvic girdle
• Joint function.

The pelvic girdle supports the weight of the upper body whilst sitting and transfers the weight from the upper body to the lower body when standing. Several muscle groups from the trunk and lower limb are attached to the pelvis and provide pelvic stability and alignment. Most muscles have an opposing muscle (antagonist) that provides an opposing force or movement of the joint. The opposing muscles of the pelvic girdle include hip flexor/ extensors, hip abductor/ adductors, hip internal/ external rotators. The abdominal muscles, and the muscles of the spine also contribute to pelvic stability.

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• Shortened and tight hip flexors (iliopsoas, rectus femoris)
• Shortened and tight hamstrings, adductors and internal rotators
• Inactive hip extensors (gluteus maximus) and abductors (gluteus medius)

In the sitting position, the curvature of the spine is lost and spine becomes more straighter. The spine muscles engage continuously to stabilize and maintain the straighter spine. Furthermore, there will be more axial loading on the intervertebral discs, vertebral end plates and facet joints.

Every joint in the body has a small amount of fluid (synovial) fluid which not only provides lubricatin but also nutrition to the cartilage inside the joints. Movement and compression of the joint are needed to produce the fluid. During sitting for prolonged periods there is neither and so the fluid production decreases and this causes the joint to degenerate and wear down early.