How To Avoid Back Pain While Seated At Work

 

Sitting down at work for long periods can be uncomfortable and may lead to chronic back pain. Many workers around the world sit for up to 10 hours straight without taking adequate breaks. This article will discuss how to avoid back pain while seated at work.

 
Always make sure you get up and stretch your legs every hour. The other thing to watch out for is to have the correct chair with proper lumbar support. The wrong chair can ruin your lower back.

 

How To Avoid Back Pain While Seated At Work

Sitting for long periods at work can lead to severe back pain

Are you sitting comfortably? No, chances are you’re not.

 

And you would be forgiven for shifting even more uneasily in your seat if you read the results of various international studies on how sitting down all day is harming our health.

 

Heart disease, diabetes, deep vein thrombosis, obesity and cancer have all been linked to chair-warming for prolonged periods of time by different researchers.

 

The list of diseases associated with sitting and inactivity make grim reading for millions who spend the majority of their working – and non-working – lives in front of a computer.

 

The average Briton is said to sit for between nine and 14 hours every day.But sticking to your desk for a three-hour stretch, eating lunch there and spending your time at home on the sofa can double the risk of a blood clot, says the most recent study by Lifeblood. Earlier this month, the charity said 9million office workers in Britain were putting themselves at risk of developing DVT.

 

And workers stuck in roles they did not like were more likely to suffer persistent lower back pain, indicating that a happier outlook towards your job can make a difference to your body, scientists at the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research suggested last month.

 

The problem has also been studied at the molecular level – and genes regulating the amount of glucose and fat in the body begin to shut down after four hours of sitting, said the Swedish School of Sport and Health Science.

 

Dr Rishi Loatey, from the British Chiropractic Association, said: ‘Four out of five British people will suffer back pain at some point in their lives.

 

‘The majority of people we see for back pain are people doing sedentary office- type jobs and leading a sedentary lifestyle.

 

‘If you look at most people’s lifestyle these days, it’s get up, drive or take the train to work, sit at work, take the train or drive back home again and sit at home.

 

‘A lot of people don’t even leave their desk at lunchtime. So we’re not getting up and walking about, which is important and what we’re designed to do but we’re spending the time just sitting. Our bodies aren’t designed for that.’

 

Britons are causing themselves difficulties by sitting down for long durations in the wrong manner, said Dr Loatey.

 

He said workers should stand up every 15 or 20 minutes if they can, or go and talk to a co-worker instead of emailing them.

 

He also advised against crossing your legs while sitting down.

 

It all sounds like fairly rudimentary stuff but the statistics show that millions of us aren’t capable of following these easy instructions – as half of Britons are currently suffering neck or back pain.

 
The problem is that most people sit incorrectly and for a long time,’ Dr Loatey explained. ‘We know there is more pressure on the disc in your lower back if you’re sitting incorrectly.

 

Read more:

 

 

See these 3 videos for some stretches while at sitting at your desk

 

 

And this one for some great info on getting relief while sitting

 

 
So make sure you watch where you sit, and for how long, while you are at work. Again the basics are easy to follow but not often followed. Sitting for long periods puts undue stress on the lower back joints and discs, and if you are not careful, could lead to chronic back pain. best to take on board the points in the article and work out for yourself how to avoid back pain while seated at work.

 
Get lots more back pain relief information from our free book titled The 7 Day Back Pain Cure. Also share the article with people you know who spend long hours seated – maybe it can help them.

 

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