by Lyn Hazel D. Calawod, OTRP
Low back pain is known as the leading cause of work-related disability in people under 45 years of age. It is most common in office workers with one year or more of work experience. In addition, it has a high prevalence in women compared to men. Low back pain does not only interfere with our daily living but also with our work performance. Not only does life tasks become more difficult, our moods and predisposition towards people around us also change as we experience more pain throughout our day. Clearly, having low back pain carries with it negative emotional, psychosocial, functional and physical effects.
Low back pain does not only interfere with our daily living but also with our work performance.
How then can you protect yourself from low back pain while at work? It is not by buying expensive sitting aids but by practicing proper ergonomics. Ergonomics is from the Greek word ergon meaning work and nomos meaning natural law. It can simply be defined as the science of fitting the environment, tools and tasks to the user. Furthermore, it is the science of helping people become more efficient and safe at work -whether in the office or at home. Below are tips that can help prevent low back pain:
1. Adjust chair height
Your feet should be able to comfortably plant on the floor. Hanging your feet while seated creates instability, increases energy expenditure and changes your perception of center of gravity. It also puts your body at a slouching position – your low back starts to round, lower abdominals relax and shoulders move forward. The slouching posture over time contributes to stiffness of your hips, back and spinal muscles. Eventually, it leads to low back pain.
Adjusting the chair height or putting a hardbound book to plant your feet on (if chair is non-adjustable or if chair is still too high despite adjustment) helps prevent occurrence of low back pain. When your feet are planted on the floor, you are able to sit comfortably with your hips in neutral position. This helps you reduce the pressure on your lower spine as well as decreases the likelihood of developing a stiff back.
2. Avoid prolonged sitting
Remember that your body especially your postural muscles are constantly put to work to maintain an upright position. Even during sitting, your body’s musculoskeletal system is working hard. Research has shown that prolonged sitting does harm to your spine, back, neck and shoulders.
Sitting for prolonged period of time is common even when you work from home. What else is there to do? Some would be sitting for 6 to 8 hours being on their computers or laptops to accomplish their work tasks.
It is a good practice to stand up from your workstation and walk around for at least 3-5 minutes every hour or so. This reduces the likelihood that your lower back muscles will be stiff over time. Also, it helps with circulation of blood to your body and brain, aiding you to think faster and to be more alert at work.
Giving yourself a quick 1 to 2 minute- stretching of your neck can already do wonders for your body and your mood.
3. Rest your upper spine on a tumbler while leaning on your backrest
This technique helps your upper spine adopt a healthy curvature especially when you’re fatigued for hours of sitting.
HOW TO DO THIS AT HOME: Get a cylindrical object (tumbler or water bottle). Lean on the backrest of your chair with the bottle in between your shoulder blades. This simple technique reduces the likelihood of being on a slouched posture. It also relieves the pressure on your whole spine.
DO YOU KNOW?: Women carry extra weight on their chest. All throughout the day, gravity pulls our body down making us more vulnerable to low back pain. Helping our bodies adopt a healthy curvature on the upper spine will alleviate back pain symptoms and prevent further complications.
4. Stretch your neck
Working on your computer also means that most of the time, you will be moving your neck forward. Giving yourself a quick 1 to 2 minute- stretching of your neck can already do wonders for your body and your mood. This is a must-do simple exercise for an office worker because it helps prevent your shoulders from being stiff. Your back and your shoulders are constantly in feedback with each other when it comes to posture. If your shoulders are too forward, it is inevitable for your body to assume a slouched posture. This is also because your neck muscles are pulling on it. Adopting this simple stretch exercise as part of your work lifestyle is indeed a cost-effective way in preventing low back pain.
5. Do deep breathing exercises while seated
Low back pain is not only brought about by physical factors. Psychosocial factors can also put you at risk for low back pain. These include your perception of job satisfaction, stressful interpersonal relations and responses to your workload .
When your brain is in a constant loop of emotional and mental stress, your body tends to tighten up as if it wants to protect itself from what stresses you. Another simple self-care or self-love task you can apply is doing deep breathing exercises.
Consciously practicing deep breathing help your rib muscles and torso stretch. It also helps your mind be put at ease.
Take one minute out of your eight hours of work to just close your eyes and perform slow deep breathing exercises while focusing your intention on self-love. Just allow yourself, for one minute, to empty your mind and focus on feeling good. Being able to be kind to your brain this way helps your nervous system relax and not be overloaded by too much information that will result in your body tightening up.
Practicing ergonomics does not need to be expensive. It can be simple yet very effective if it is turned into a lifestyle.
Want to share your thoughts? Get in touch with us.
