If you are part of the group of people who experience pain after sitting all day, you are not alone. In fact, as much as 25% of adults who are sitting 8 hours or more have some sort of discomfort in their bodies, and this is felt mostly as you get close to the end of your work shift. Whether you work remotely from the couch of your living room, behind a desk at an office, or need to perform your daily tasks in any other sitting position, that might be playing a huge role in the way you feel after you have spent some time working, especially when it comes to your hips.
What are the common causes of hip pain that relate to sitting?
While most people think that the fact of having discomfort on the hips simply comes down to regular aging problems, the truth is that regardless of how old you are, holding the same posture for a long period of the day is not for the best interests of your body, so if you ever thought that your ache could be a result of your posture habits, you might be right. And if we think about it, that makes sense, when I visited my physiotherapist, he explained to me that when we sit in a regular position our knees are bend and our hamstrings are relaxed in a shortened position (this means they are not being stretched), then the same happens with our hip flexors, as they are flexed as well. So, if our bodies are in a resting position for too long they can become weak and get hurt easily.
One factor that makes pain even worse is if we sit in an incorrect position. So, if your mom used to tell you to stand straight, she was right! Imagine spending 40 hours a week for one year or even longer, sitting on a chair as part of your work (which is pretty common in our digital world). Well, that represents more than 2 thousand hours in the same position, which can result in a broad variety of issues, such as hip pain. Now, if we add the bad posture factor on top of that, it becomes a perfect recipe for health issues, whether or not you have started to suffer the effects just yet. However, this post is all about getting the problems solved, now that you understand how common this disorder is and what can be causing your hips to hurt, it is time to see what might work for you.
What can I do to reduce the pain in my hips?
One of the best recommendations that my physiotherapist ever gave me to prevent and reduce the pain, was to focus on an ergonomic approach in order to adapt the environment to our bodies, and that’s especially important when you must work from your computer or laptop. Having an ergonomic set up includes a number of factors that include sitting on a correct, neutral position, keeping our feel aligned as well as an up straight spine, which believe it or not makes a huge difference when it comes to hip pain. But if we want to see enhanced results and be able to keep them over time, it is necessary to add extra support that promotes good posture. I tried a variety of things from posture-corrector garments, to changing my chair, and what ultimately made a massive change was to incorporate a lap tray into my daily activities. I noticed a great improvement in the reduction of discomfort on my hip from day one, and I must admit that since I first tried it I knew I was not coming back.
Can a lap tray help my hip pain?
The short answer is yes, a lap tray can definitely be helpful to decrease the pain you experience in your hip. Although this gadget may seem pretty simple, it works wonders on the way you feel through the day, plus it allows you to happily continue with your daily activities once you are done with your work tasks, feeling your whole body rested and relaxed, and this is by far my favorite part. The use of a lap tray does not limit to the effects we perceive in our bodies, but the fact of feeling in optimal conditions works as an energy booster that motivates us as we move on. In the following lines we will discuss how a lap tray impacts each part of the body.
How does a lap tray work to alleviate hip pain?
Time ago, most people -including myself, used to think that looking for comfort was actually luxury and far from necessary. However, I can attest first hand along with science, that ergonomics matter and must be a top priority when making a decision that affects the way we work, such as the setting and equipment. In this regard, the ongoing use of a lap tray as we perform our daily activities is an essential part of feeling physically good. When you start to use a lap tray, you will immediately notice how your wrist has a proper pad to place them and type in a resting position, then you will also notice how your back changes to a straight position, also correcting hunched shoulders.
Using a lap tray will feel great for those who often struggle with neck pain as well, and the reason behind it is that the screen commonly stands at a lower height than our eyes, causing the head to go down and forward, causing a lot of tension and making the muscles feel very tight after a couple of hours. However, when we include the proper support with the implementation of a lap tray into our office equipment, we can release all that unnecessary tension from our back muscles, which definitely has a major positive impact on our hips. Plus, a really nice side benefit when making your purchase is the ability of personalizing the design of your lap tray, having the option to easily customize it with your favorite color, picture and even add some text, so I get to see the picture of my beautiful family when I am working on my projects.
Getting the most out of a lap tray
As soon as you decide to get a lap tray for the office, you will notice a drastic attenuation of your hip pain. However, there is a way of taking the use of your lap tray to the next level. One of the suggestions often given by doctors to reduce hip pain is to change positions throughout the day, meaning that we should adopt a different posture each couple of hours. However, I was quick to realize that it would be very hard for me to avoid sitting on my desk, since that is the only way I could figure out how to handle my laptop in an appropriate way, but after some time using y lap tray, I started to realize that my hips where not hurting as much as they used to, and decided to take it home.
Using a lap tray and switching positions to help hip pain
There are times when people need to send emails from home, or are required to connect for a meeting with staff members who live overseas in another division of the company, having to use the laptop of course. This is when I first started to use my laptop in other positions rather than sitting on my desk. The first time I was about to sit on the kitchen table but I noticed that the living room was empty, so I went there and sat on my favorite comfy couch with my laptop and tray, and started working on an urgent project.
I was blown away by how much I had gotten done in just one hour, compared to what I had achieved while I was at the office, and the best part is that my hips were pain free, I was feeling great in my whole body. Now, it is common for me to send a few emails from my bed before sleeping with the support of my lap tray, and as you might imagine I have a few of these amazing gadgets at home and make sure my kids use it, whether the teens are doing their homework, or my little one wants to draw. If you are the kind of person who gets to work from home on a regular basis or occasionally, getting a lap tray is a must, you can thank me later.
The importance of switching positions often
As surprising as this may sound, science has proved that holding the same posture for a long period, such as sitting or lying down comes with bigger risks to be affected by health issues, including heart diseases, diabetes and also some types of cancer. If you spend long hours at the desk probably you have experienced some problems related to mental health, as this too has been proved to be correlated, and of course your hips can also be affected with the rest of your body. However, there are some simple and easy strategies that you should incorporate into your daily habits, in order to reduce the risks that are dangerous for our health. Changing positions every couple of hours will have a benefit on your overall health, from your mind to your eyes, hips and shoulders. You can go for a quick walk, drink water and try a different position with the support of your lap tray.