Studies have linked excessive sitting with being overweight and obese, type 2 diabetes, some types of cancer, and premature death.

Prolonged sitting is thought to slow the metabolism, which affects the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar, blood pressure and break down body fat.

Many adults in the UK spend more than seven hours a day sitting or lying, and this typically increases with age to 10 hours or more.

This includes watching TV, using a computer, reading, doing homework, travelling by car, bus or train – behaviours referred to as sedentary – but does not include sleeping.

Experts believe there is something specific about the act of sitting or lying for too long that is bad for our health.

One of the largest pieces of research to date on the subject – involving almost 800,000 people – found that, compared with those who sat the least, people who sat the longest had a:

• 112% increase in risk of diabetes
• 147% increase in cardiovascular events
• 90% increase in death caused by cardiovascular events
• 49% increase in death from any cause

How much sitting is too much?

The advice is clear: to reduce our risk of ill health from inactivity, we are advised to exercise regularly – at least 150 minutes a week – as well as reduce time spent sitting or lying.However, there is currently not enough evidence to set a time limit on how much time people should sit each day.

What Can You Do?

Adults aged 19 to 64 are advised to try to sit down less throughout the day, including at work, when travelling and at home.

Tips to reduce sitting time:

• stand on the train or bus
• take the stairs and walk up escalators
• set a reminder to get up every 30 minutes
• alternate working while seated with standing
• place a laptop on a box or similar to work standing
• stand or walk around while on the phone
• take a walk break every time you take a coffee or tea break
• walk to a co-worker’s desk instead of emailing or calling
• swap some TV time for more active tasks or hobbies

How much physical activity you need to do each week depends on your age.

• at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity such as cycling or fast walking every week, and
• strength exercises on two or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms).

OR

• 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity, such as running or a game of singles tennis every week, and
• strength exercises on two or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms).

OR

• A mix of moderate and vigorous aerobic activity every week. For example, two 30-minute runs plus 30 minutes of fast walking equates to 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity, and
• strength exercises on two or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms).

A rule of thumb is that one minute of vigorous activity provides the same health benefits as two minutes of moderate activity.

One way to do your recommended 150 minutes of weekly physical activity is to do 30 minutes on 5 days a week.

All adults should also break up long periods of sitting with light activity. Find out why sitting is bad for your health.
What classes as Aerobic exercise:

• walking fast
• water aerobics
• riding a bike
• doubles tennis
• pushing a lawn mower
• hiking
• skateboarding
• rollerblading
• swimming
• jogging

Shoulder instability is when the ball and socket joint is not controlled well.  When the ball is sliding around it’s socket too much it can cause pain and in some cases come out of the socket and dislocate.  Sometimes the ball does not completely dislocate and is only partially out and can feel locked. With a wiggle it often returns to its normal position.  This is called subluxation.

To help improve the shoulder’s stability, the joint is supported by a thickened rim around the socket called a labrum, which deepens the shallow joint.  The capsule around this joint is also reinforced by ligaments which become taught at the end range of all shoulder movements.  When the ligaments become tight they also send important messages to the brain so that it can coordinate how the muscles around the shoulder move.

There are 3 types of shoulder instability.  The most common form of instability is caused by trauma, such as a fall.  The large force causes structural damage to the ligaments and socket rim (labrum).  This can lead to repetitive dislocations in some people.  Shoulder rehabilitation may reduce the chances of this by training the rotator cuff to fully recover and compensate.  In the younger population (below 28 years old) the chances of re-dislocation are much higher and they may require surgery.

The third type is very rare and called “abnormal muscle patterning”.  This is when the big powerful muscles that attach around the shoulder, activate inappropriately and out of sequence.  This causes very large forces that the rotator cuff simply cannot compete with.  This type of instability requires very specialist physiotherapy.  We aim to reteach these muscles to activate in a normal way and rewrite their programming.  Occasionally, the first 2 types of shoulder instability may develop these characteristics and it is important that this is identified early and addressed.

Due to the complex nature and wide spectrum of symptoms of shoulder instability, shoulder surgeons and Physiotherapists work very closely together to manage this condition.