Healthy subway ride

By Song Sang-ho

Every morning on the way to work, office workers often feel pain on jam-packed subways. I read a report on a survey by a job search portal, which asked, “When is the saddest moment for an office worker?” It showed 65.1 percent choosing “being on a jam-packed subway on the way to work, bearing people stepping on my feet and pushing me for over an hour.” This is an example of the stress office workers undergo going to work.

If you take the subway, it usually takes between 30 minutes to an hour, and you usually have to stand until you get off. It’s even worse if you have bags to carry. You get exhausted even before getting to work.

The worst part of it is probably the back and leg pain coming from long hours of standing. Did you know that this pain can come from the wrong posture? Standing for long hours or with most of the weight on one leg can be the cause of spinal or joint problems. Correcting the posture can make the day lighter and fresher.

Most office workers carry big bags, pouches, handfuls of books and documents. College students carry thick text books. Although there are shelves on subways, it is not easy to use them during rush hour. However, it is healthier to put heavy bags or items down.

Carrying heavy bags on shoulders for a long time can cause inflammation in the shoulder joints because the bag straps press down on the shoulder joint bursa. When bags are carried on one shoulder for a long time and repetitively, the shoulder and neck get stiff and painful. It can lead to uneven shoulder height and an unbalanced upper body, and if aggravated can press down on joints and ligaments, causing back pain. Therefore, if it is difficult to use the shelves on the subway, try to put the bags down on the floor or travel light.

Standing on one leg is also risky. We often stand on one leg when we travel standing without recognizing it. However, when we get used to this posture, we load our body weight on one side of the body all the time, losing the balance of our body. When the body weight is shifted and loaded on one side of the body, the weight stresses out the spine as it is concentrated in the back. It also causes asymmetric pelvis, leading to “scoliosis” and “disc herniation.” It is important to get treated early when you have pain.

Especially when you have scoliosis for a long time, it can affect the pelvis and other joints as well as the spine. Shifted body weight loading on one side of the body can lead to knee arthritis. If your habit is to stand on one leg, try to correct it.

When you get on the subway these days, you will notice that everybody is looking down at their smart phones or tablet PC. The devices may be useful to get over the boredom of long subway ride, but the slouched posture for a long time can cause “myofascial pain syndrome” as the neck and shoulder muscles get tense from the posture.

Early symptoms of myofascial pain are light; only the shoulder muscles get tense and painful, but it gets worse with time. You can have a burning sensation in the area of pain, and you might shout when the area is touched. Therefore, try to keep the posture straight and stretch the neck, shoulders and back every three to five minutes to relieve muscle tension.

Wearing comfortable shoes rather than heels is also important when you’re traveling long distances standing. Standing in high heels for a long time can cause ankle and knee pain, and also “chondromalacia,” which makes the bones abnormally soft. When chondromalacia is not treated in the early stages, it can lead to degenerative arthritis. If it is difficult to wear sneakers to work, take them in your bag. If you must wear heels, try to stretch the tense muscles in the legs and ankles once in a while.

Most people start the day riding subways. A small change of habits can turn our dry and tough weekdays into fresh and light days. A little change to take care of the body can be a small gift to yourself to live through the working day and rush hour. I hope you will start your day healthy and fresh with light bags and comfortable sneackers.

The writer is the president of Wellton Bone & Joint Hospital.