To Your Health
February, 2012 (Vol. 06, Issue 02) |
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Don't Sit Too Long or Things Could Go Wrong
By Editorial Staff
A pulmonary embolism is nothing to scoff at – it's a blockage of one or more arteries in your lungs, often caused by blood clots that travel from another part of your body to the lungs.
Regardless of the origin, a pulmonary embolism can be life-threatening if not treated immediately. Primary symptoms include sudden, unexplained shortness of breath, chest pain and coughing with or without bloody mucus.
How do you reduce your risk of suffering a pulmonary embolism? According to a recent study in the British Medical Journal, it starts with something simple: don't sit for too long. According to the study, which tracked nearly 70,000 nurses from 1990-2008, time of sitting was associated with risk of pulmonary embolism - women who sat the most had more than double the risk compared to women who sat the least. It's important to note that physical activity did not affect the risk, meaning that women who worked out consistently, but still sat for long periods of time on a daily basis, still had an elevated risk of developing an embolism compared to women who sat less (even if they also exercised less).
The moral to this story is simple: Sit too long and things could go wrong! This study adds to the evidence linking sedentary behavior with health complications including diabetes and cancer. Talk to your doctor of chiropractic about the benefits of regular activity, and more importantly, how you can minimize the amount of time you spend sitting, even if you're confined to a desk job.
