Sit and Rise
Silent slow creeper of bad posture on blood pressure
Sit and Rise
The silent slow creeper of bad posture on blood pressure
Here a little article targeted to everyday drivers and desk workers.
As we sit down, often we slump. Tired, fatigued, and ready to face plant the computer screen? The effect of long term sitting posture apart from the obvious spinal ones, is a gradual dis-ease of elevated blood pressure and vascular resistance.
Some brief anatomical background…
Blood to the kidneys comes from the renal arteries. which branch of the main abdominal section of the aorta.
As part of our amazingly fine tuned pressure system, we have flow/pressure receptors in the kidneys that keep tabs on how much blood is coming in/pressure into the kidney.
If the kidney registers a drop in pressure, it pumps out some hormone that are associated with regulating blood pressure (Renin-Angiotensin), by influencing blood volume, electrolyte imbalance, and systemic vascular resistance.
A local response of the nervous system also feedbacks a signal from the kidney to the artery, altering its diameter and flow.
Fast Forward
If we slump - the renal artery is right in the “crunch zone”
The period of slumping, puts pressure on the renal artery, narrowing it.
Kidney registers this as “not enough blood/blood pressure”
Pumps out the hormones over time, which say
“raise blood pressure” and “increase blood volume”
Gradually conditioning the body into a systemic higher blood pressure….Not Good.
How to deal with it
- Don’t sit shit…
Move about
Stretch your lumbar everyday
Avoid licorice root and tea (raises blood pressure gradually)
Technique
Lie down with a partner/friend to assist
Find the floating ribs
Move them towards the spine gently with one hand
Other hand rests on flank underneath.
Lift flank from the back upwards
Hold and wait……be patient…..seconds to minutes….until you feel it.
What this does
ease tension of kidney and diaphragm
assist nerves to correctly adjust the renal artery flow
assists balance of flow between aorta, renal artery and kidney
Reduce feedback from kidney that causes high blood pressure