Preventing Lower Back Pain When Sitting for Hours
It’s standard to experience lower back pain in an office chair, especially if you practice poor ergonomics. A sedentary lifestyle can result in poor posture, which can damage your spine health entirely.
If you don’t want to result in a severe diagnosis by a professional, it’s advisable to care for your spine while you can. You need to incorporate effective techniques to help your spine, even if you’re sitting in front of a computer screen for hours every day.
An average person spends most of their time sitting down, so even aspects like changing your office chair can do you good. In the following, we’ll be discussing ways you can prevent lower back pain in an office chair.
1. Change your workspace
Your workspace is everything when it comes to your back pain. If you tend to slouch or sit in a strained position that results in back pain after a few hours, you need to change your work setup.
For starters, choose an adjustable and reclinable ergonomic chair. An adjustable chair will allow you to meet your monitor at eye level without straining your shoulders and back.
On the other hand, a reclining chair will also allow you to rest your back when it feels tired. Next, you should either get a laptop stand or purchase a bigger monitor that will enable you to relax your back.
If you don’t have any of these yet in your work setup, it may be time to treat yourself during your next payday.
2. Practice proper posture
Having a proper sitting posture means keeping your back straight while your eye level is aligned to your computer screen. You should also be leaning on your office chair without slouching and without crossing your knees or ankles.
Also, if you can, take five-minute breaks in between sitting for hours, as it can really strain your back and spine.
Posture is everything if you want to avoid getting physiotherapy for your lower back pain. So it would help if you refrained from constantly slouching to not damage your spine with further complications.
The tissues on your spine are highly fragile, in which poor posture can worsen your already existing back pain. If it’s difficult to sit correctly with your back straight, try a short yoga exercise or back stretches.
3. Exercise
Speaking of exercise, this can do wonders for your back pain. Research has significantly shown that individuals dealing with back pain had their discomfort improved by 58% with exercise.
It’s advisable to focus on core, abs, and back exercises to improve your posture and reduce back pain.
For instance, one of the best exercises to relieve back pain is downward dog. It’s a yoga pose that you can also use as a stretching exercise before and after your workout routine.
Back crunches are also another simple exercise that can relieve the tension and joints in your shoulders and back.
Of course, you can also choose to do weight training, but it’s not advisable to lift heavier than you can handle or do routines that are too strenuous for you. Otherwise, this will result in a pulled muscle and worsen your back pain.
If the cause of your back pain is inflammation or injury, exercise can still significantly benefit you compared to a sedentary lifestyle. Furthermore, exercise can help relieve stress, a common neurological factor for back pain.
If you find your back pain unbearable even after doing all these tips, seeking the help of a chiropractor or getting a massage can provide you the relief you need. You could also visit your nearest clinic if you’d like.
They’re professionals that will help you with your back and spine problems. The bottom line is that prevention will always be better than cure.
Don’t wait for a professional to tell you that you need surgery when diagnosed with a severe spinal cord injury. It’s always best to take care of your back and spine while you’re still young.