How to Reduce Back Pain from Sitting

When we think about the ideal work, we would always associate it with sitting in the office all day while staring at the computer. While it is known that people love to have this kind of job, there is actually a down side to all this. Prolonged sitting can lead to intense back pain and no one is immune from back pain when sitting.

The normal and proper way of sitting was taught to us in school. It is one of the earliest lessons that we have learned and yet when we grow up, we tend to neglect this. A lot of people tend to lean back so much on chairs or slouch forward. This poor habit can lead poor body alignment which eventually leads to back pain.

The mechanism in which this pain occurs is simple. To fully understand why this phenomenon happens, it is important for us to know a bit about the anatomy and physiology of the back. Our back has a lot of very thin muscle fibres. The reason why these muscles are so thin is because they only work to support the vertebrae and it aids in its movement. The muscles on our backs were not made to withstand a lot of weight and stress which is why the smallest amount of pressure placed on it will eventually lead to back pain. This is also true with sitting. When a person sits down for a long time, the weight of the body starting from the head, will be placed upon the buttocks. Placing the whole body weight on the buttocks is fine but it is not the only muscle supporting the body. The back muscles are the muscle fibres doing all the work when sitting because it will keep you from falling off of your chair. It keeps your body straight and upright. To compensate for this stress, people tend to slouch or lean back too much on the chair. This action will do more harm than good in this situation.

In order for you to reduce back pain while sitting, it is important that you assume the right position. The body should have a straight alignment while sitting, which means no slouching or no leaning back too much. This action will also prevent you from having neck strains as well. Back supports should also be used. A simple rolled towel placed on the lower back while sitting will do great wonders. It is also important that you take a break from sitting down. Prolonged sitting can cause low blood circulation and the only way to improve circulation is to stand up and stretch. Stretching will also relieve the compression placed upon the intervertebral discs when you are sitting. If prolonged sitting is done, not only will back pain be a problem but it may also cause some nerves in the spine to be compressed which will eventually need surgery to correct.

Sitting down may seem like a very innocent action but it can cause people a lot of pain. Having the right body alignment and periodic stretching should be done in order to prevent back pain.