Most people are so focused on their symptoms that they often neglect to address the cause of their discomfort.

When the cause is obvious, people often make the right decision.

For example, if you had a pebble in your shoe and it was bothering you, you wouldn’t take a pain killer or an anti-inflammatory to cover up the discomfort. You would recognize it was the pebble and you would take a moment to remove it from your shoe.

But, are headaches or back pain the result of an inadequate supply of aspirin in the bloodstream?

Sciatica is the worst – period.

I’ve been there – that achy butt and leg pain is distracting at best, and downright disruptive at its worst…

If you’ve ever experienced sciatica you know that it zaps your energy, interferes with your work, and stops you from doing the sports and activities you love. Heck, it can even make sitting and standing unbearable…

Here’s the crazy thing: back problems including sciatica will affect 4 in 5 Canadian adults at some point in their life.

So if sciatica is so common, what is it?

The global technology boom may have improved our lives and connected the world, but it has also caused an epidemic of “Tech Neck” and contributed to some serious health problems.

New York spine surgeon Dr. Kenneth Hansraj published research in 2014 measuring the effects of forward head posture (aka tech neck) on the cervical spine and found that a normal 12-pound head can weigh as much as 60 pounds when bent forward.

Imagine walking around all day with a child wrapped around your neck!

Forward head posture has been linked to conditions like spinal degeneration, disc disease, abnormal curvatures of the spine, headaches…even respiratory problems, depression, and reduced mortality.

With the world rapidly changing, more people than ever are moving their primary work environment home. With the convenience, decreased travel times, and lowered office expenses, has also come a rise in sedentary desk activity… aka sitting!

With research suggesting we are now sitting for 12+ hours a day, up from the 10 hours of our waking time being sedentary, there’s little question that the short and long-term effects of prolonged sitting won’t be good.

Over the past decade, it’s been well documented that extended periods of sitting has negative health consequences, many of them even unexpected, much like the increased risk of developing Heart Disease and Type 2 Diabetes.

On the surface, negative consequences for spinal health seem to be obvious, but upon closer examination, the effects of prolonged sitting go far beyond simply achy shoulders and headaches.