Let's talk about a couple common habits, one for the guys and one for the ladies, that many people are doing daily, causing themselves all sorts of problems - often without knowing it. Thankfully, these are super simple to fix!
For the men, the bad habit is sitting on your wallet, and most guys that sit on their wallet do it all the time, maybe even for hours and hours every day.
Sitting on your wallet un-levels and imbalances your pelvis and lower back, which can create low back pain, sciatica, and pinched nerves. A helpful visual for this is to look at your pants if you have this habit, or you know someone that does. What you will see if you look closely is that over time the pressure of the wallet actually causes the material of the pocket to fade in color and to get deformed. You can easily imagine how this same pressure deforms the structures of the core, such as ligaments, muscles and the joints of the pelvis and low back.
The common bad habit for the ladies is over-wearing of high heels. These types of shoes, while cute and stylish, wreak havoc when worn often. The narrow toe area creates higher risk for bunions and pinched nerves in the feet and toes. The higher elevation of the heel compared to the forefoot and toes can create increased risk of foot and toe fractures, ankle sprains, and chronically overtight calf and hamstring muscles, which can lead to increased risk of injuring these muscles. Lastly, this large elevation of the heel creates increased forward tilting of the pelvis, which can lead to increased risk of developing frustrating low back pain and sciatica. So minimize high heel use as much as possible, saving them for those really special occasions if you absolutely love them, and wear shorter heels when you do.
Follow these simple tips, taking the wallet out of the back pocket, and minimizing usage and size of high heels, and your body will thank you! For more tips, follow us on Facebook and Instagram. And if you've been dealing with nagging chronic issues that are just not get better no matter what you've tried, we are here for you.