hi guys Jason from mr. physio here in Australia
there are two most commonly mentioned statements about sitting
'sit on your sitting bones'
and 'sit with your hip all the way back into the chair'
which I do not agree with at all
I'll tell you why and also talk about how to sit and stand properly
I'm gonna ask you three questions
so please let me know your answers in the comment section
I was kind of surprised how many youtubers say 'sit on your protruding bones' right under your hip
this is called ischial tuberosity where some muscles are attached like hamstring tendons
I keep repeating this in my channel tendons don't like compression
tendons are soft tissues attaching muscles to bones
so it's always near bony areas and there is a growing evidence that says
compression is one of the most contributing factors to tendinopathy
tendonitis like achilles tendonitis or you know tennis elbow golfer's elbow
this is ischial tuberosity and your hamstring tendons are attached like this
if you sit on it, there is a compression against the bone
is it a good thing for the tendon or not?
Let's use our common sense.
compressing the soft tissue with hard structure is likely to damage the tendon
that's why people with hamstring tendon problems can't sit at all
because the tendons get compressed and it's really painful
not everyone gets this hamstring problem. but why would you risk yourself by sitting on it
which one is more stable sitting on the pointy bone or sitting on a flat surface
when we sit for some time, our posture is likely to lean backwards anyway
but when you sit on the pointy bones which is already unstable you're more likely to go backwards
but when you sit on flat surfaces, it is easier to maintain that posture
which one do you think makes more sense?
is sitting really bad?
it's not necessarily a bad thing, as humans have been doing that for thousands of years
but it's a lack of movement that causes real problems when sitting for long
Therefore, sitting with your hip all the way back into the chair is not ideal
sitting also requires core muscle activation
You have to use your core and spinal muscles to sit upright
so we actually use our muscles even in sitting
however when sitting against a chair, your body tends to rely on it
then you switch off those muscle activations
it's like using a postural correction band
you think they're gonna help
but in fact they can make things worse because you don't use your muscles at all
that was an answer to my last question which I haven't asked
"Can you use your muscles in sitting with your hip all the way back into the seat"
less likely but if you have a different answer please let me know
How do we need to sit?
you need to sit on the pelvic floor muscles and hamstrings
and it's in between those two 'sit bones'
you bring your body all the way forward arching your back (one end)
then you move backwards and you can feel your 'Sit bones' (the other end)
you have to sit somewhere in between the two ends (1/3 of hamstrings)
not all the way forward, not on the bones, it's somewhere in between
in this way you can avoid compression on the hamstring tendons and also you need to
and also you need to sit on the front part of the chair. (1/3 from the front)
in this position it's easier to avoid staying in one position
by switching your feet position
so you can alternate your feet position every five to ten minutes
it's easier to change your positions compared to sitting like this
of course you can change your feet position in this position too
but it doesn't change your pelvic position
where pelvic position can change if you sit on the front
As you bring your leg back, your pelvic position changes
your pelvis keeps changing its position every 5 to 10 minutes which is ideal
you have more rooms to move your pelvis back and forth (side to side)
You can do this as an exercise every hour or so (20-30times)
or as frequent as you can
so basically you can do exercises even in sitting (keep moving!)
it's the same when using a standing desk (move!)
you need to keep changing your position so don't stand on your both feet too long
put a footstool so that you can have one foot or the other up
however be careful not to stick your hip out (not good for tendon)
Please see my other video for gluteal tendons
try to push your hip in so that you can keep your pelvis level
you can alternate in between different positions (every 10minutes)
add this position too if you can..
sitting on the sitting bones doesn't make any sense
and sitting with your hip all the way back into the seat also can make things worse
because your muscles for sitting balance is likely to be switched off
but in the end we know it's not sitting being worse than standing
it's a lack of movement
therefore you need to keep changing your positions whether you sit or stand
and I hope my tips today can help a little bit
please let me know if you have any different ideas
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