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How (Un)Healthy is Wheeling?
Written by Phil on Sunday, January 31, 2010
Today I read an article in the SPIEGEL online news magazine. Researchers have found that sitting is bad for one’s health. Sports in the evening make not much difference when one sits too long during the day. They recommend standing up and walking around and do little things for five minutes every three quarters of an hour or so. (Original source: Elin Ekblom-Bak of Karolinska Institute in Stockholm in the "British Journal of Sports Medicine".)
When I sit at my desk for a long time, I feel that my hips get stiff, all of my body gets stiffer. Whereas my upper body is used much more when I am in the wheelchair, naturally my lower body and legs hardly move at all. Is this unhealthy? I think so.
But this is a question for the full-time wheelers.
Some of them already said that using a manual wheelchair can wear out the shoulders and other joints of the arms. (Maybe there are techniques which help prevent this?)
On the other hand, wheeling makes me happier. And being happy might be the best to protect or even to improve one’s health.
And maybe one should get out of the chair more often – lying down, crawling on the floor, swimming, hanging around (with the hands at a high bar or so), making headstands, or what else is feasible for the individual?
Tags: BIID, Wheelchair
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5 Comments
I read the same article. It also said that after four hours of sitting toxins begin to release into body. That’s where another research published lately comes in - the one that says that fat on butt, thighs and hips is beneficial because it absorbs toxins. So, if you sit for a long time, at least have a big bottom.
Wheeling takes big toll on our spine as well unless the wheelchair has shocks. I get an adjustment from a chiropractor (osteopath) every two or three weeks otherwise I would have a serious back and neck pain (wheelchair or not).
When it comes to back pain, lowering my back rest almost eliminated daily pain.
But as you say, if wheeling makes you happier, it might positively influence your health. It might make your immune system stronger just because you are happier.
Of course, it’s unhealthy. There’s a reason why people with spinal cord injuries have so many more medical problems and a lower life expectancy than the general population.
4 On 1 February, 2010, Sean said:
@Merrick well, to be fair, it’s not the wheeling per se that is the major culprit on life expectancy and medical problems. Sure, using a wheelchair is tough on shoulders that weren’t designed for that kind of work.
But the real impact comes from lack of use of limbs (osteoporosis), inability to feel skin + bad management causing pressure sores, bladder dysfunction causing infections, etc. So basically, the real problem isn’t the wheelchair itself, but the spinal cord injury!
And yes, I know I’m over-simplifying, but still..
Since the feet and lower legs are the farthest from the heart, circulation isn’t as good in these distant areas. Walking actually aids in the circulation to the feet and legs.
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1 On 31 January, 2010, Sylvie said:
If your hips get stiff, put your right ankle on your left knee. Hold your ankle with your left hand. Then with your right hand, gently push on your right knee. Then do it with the opposite. Someone just showed me this stretch last week and it “opened up” my hips.