Facing a gentle blow, come and do some "little moves"

This is the 4786th article of Da Yi Xiao Hu

It's winter vacation. Feifei, who came home from school, seemed to have entered the "hibernation period" just like the little turtle at home. She would rather sit than stand, and lie down than sit - take a nap in the morning, lie on the sofa and play with her phone in the afternoon, and sit and watch TV with her family at night. Even the time she spends in the bathroom is getting longer and longer. Her mother couldn't help but knock on the door again: "Feifei, it's been half an hour. Have you been making a nest in the bathroom? Come out quickly!" Feifei was unhappy: "My stomach has been bloated recently, and I'm getting the feeling. Don't disturb me." After a while, her mother heard Feifei's panicked request for help: "Mom, help me, my butt hurts so much, and I'm bleeding! There's a small ball of flesh next to my anus. What's wrong?"

After examination, it turned out that this was a hemorrhoid attack caused by sitting for a long time. Feifei was shocked, "What? Don't adults get hemorrhoids? I'm still a middle school student, how can I have hemorrhoids!" In fact, hemorrhoids occur because the anal cushion tissue moves downward and the venous return is not smooth. Sitting or standing for a long time will cause venous blood return obstruction, and the anal cushions will become congested and hypertrophic and then move downward, slowly forming. During an attack, symptoms such as blood in the stool, pain, edema, and prolapse will appear. Feifei's hemorrhoid attack this time is closely related to the bad habit of sitting for a long time. She will sit for a long time in school and do homework. She will sit for a long time when she goes home on vacation to watch mobile phones, watch TV and movies. She will still sit for a long time when she goes out for long-distance travel. "Sitting" seems to make the body very relaxed, but it is quietly dragging down our body and bringing many unexpected harms. Hemorrhoids are just one of them.

Usually we think of long-term sitting as "sitting for more than 1-2 hours". However, the guidelines issued by the World Health Organization point out that long-term sedentary behavior refers to the behavior of sitting, reclining or lying for a long time in the awake state, with an energy consumption of ≤1.5 MET (Met, an energy metabolic equivalent). Any of the following conditions can be considered as long-term sitting: 1. Often do not get up for 1.5 hours; 2. The total sitting time per day exceeds 8 hours; 3. Often sit for more than 5 days a week in the awake state. That is to say, when we lie down and play with mobile phones, it is also a sedentary behavior. In today's society, "sitting for a long time" is also listed as one of the top ten causes of death, second only to smoking, high-salt diet, and drinking. It ranks fourth in the cause of death from chronic non-communicable diseases worldwide, and is also called "the most gentle chronic suicide." Scientific research shows that compared with people who sit for less than 2 hours a day, people who sit for more than 6 hours a day have a 26.7% increased risk of suffering from various chronic diseases such as anorectal diseases, prostatitis, pelvic inflammatory disease, asthma, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, thyroid disease, and depression. You are just sitting there quietly, but your body is being hurt by the "gentle knife".

Sitting for a long time also has many harms on the digestive system:

1. Sitting for long periods of time can cause constipation

The peristalsis of the large intestine decreases, stool is retained in the intestine, there is no urge to defecate, and symptoms such as constipation and dry stools appear.

2. Cause anorectal diseases such as hemorrhoids

Poor pelvic blood return causes anal vein dilation, hemorrhoids and bleeding; dry and hard stools can easily induce anorectal diseases such as anal fissures and sinusitis.

3. Causes poor digestion and absorption

Sitting for a long time slows down gastrointestinal emptying, affecting the digestion and absorption of food, causing symptoms such as abdominal bloating, abdominal pain, and increased flatus; sitting for a long time relaxes the lower esophageal sphincter and allows gastric contents to flow back into the esophagus, causing chest pain, acid reflux, heartburn and other esophageal reflux symptoms.

What is even more frightening is that prolonged sitting has been listed as a high-risk factor for colorectal cancer. Studies have shown that for every additional 2 hours of sitting time per day, the risk of colorectal cancer increases by 8%. When sitting for a long time, intestinal peristalsis slows down, and harmful components in feces are retained in the colon for a long time and cannot be excreted in time, causing irritation and damage to the intestinal mucosa. In addition, the poor blood circulation caused by prolonged sitting damages the intestinal immune barrier, which in turn increases the risk of inducing cancer.

How to deal with it?

Facing the "gentle knife" of long-term sitting, it's time to do some "little actions" :

In fact, the best way to deal with the risks of long-term sitting is to increase our daily exercise, but few people can stick to long-term regular physical exercise. So we suggest that replacing long-term sitting with exercise of any intensity is beneficial. Climbing, playing ball, swimming, dancing, doing exercises, jogging, and brisk walking are all very good ways to exercise. Here are also a series of "small movements" that can be done while sitting, lying, or standing.

1. Standing on tiptoe

Standing on tiptoes in place can exercise the leg muscles, promote blood return to the lower limbs, accelerate blood circulation, and thus relieve soreness and swelling in the lower limbs.

2. Make a fist

Office workers or gamers often face computers, operate keyboards and mice, which can easily lead to "mouse hand". You can try clenching your fist, then stretching your fingers, clenching again, and stretching again, and repeat this several times to relax.

3. Stretch

Stretching a few times after sitting for a long time can trigger strong contraction of most muscles in the body, pushing the stagnant blood back to the heart in a short period of time, improving blood circulation and eliminating fatigue.

4. Tilt your head back

Long-term desk work or study or looking down at the phone will cause a great burden on the cervical spine. Frequently tilting your head back and twisting your neck left and right to do the "M" exercise can effectively relieve fatigue of the neck muscles and cervical spine.

5. Turn your waist

Sit up straight with your back straight, legs slightly open, stretch out your right hand and place it on your left knee, twist your left hand to your back, exhale slowly and stretch, twisting left and right several times.

6. Lift the anus

Kegel exercises can greatly enhance anal function and prevent hemorrhoids. Regularly contract and relax the anorectal sphincter, repeat 50-100 times.

7. Get excited

Doing deep and slow abdominal breathing can greatly promote intestinal peristalsis. The abdomen should bulge when inhaling and sink when exhaling. Repeat 10 to 20 times as a set, and do 2 to 3 sets a day.

8. Belly massage

Place your hand on the lower right abdomen and then move upward, massaging the abdomen clockwise along the large intestine for five minutes each time to promote intestinal peristalsis and relieve bloating or constipation.

I hope these "little actions" can help everyone alleviate the harm of sitting for a long time. Of course, the best way is to stand up and move more. In addition, maintaining a regular lifestyle, not overworked, staying up late less, drinking less, drinking more water, eating more vegetables and fruits, and being in a good mood can make our holiday life better and healthier!

Author: Gastrointestinal Center of East China Sanatorium

Zhou Lu Attending Physician