3 Tips to Prevent That 'Back To Work' Back Pain
Now the party season is over for another year (Boo Hiss!), most of us are back into our normal working routines. If your job is desk-based you might have noticed a return of that other staple - the low-back-pain-gremlin. Follow these tips to put him back in his box.
Don't let niggling back pain ruin your workday.
Take Regular Breaks
This is perhaps the easiest tip to implement - essentially you shouldn't be sitting for any longer than 15 to 20 minutes without moving. This can be as simple as standing up and stretching, going for a cup of tea or coffee, or just having a 30 second wander round the office. This needn't be dead time either - use a dictaphone or similar smartphone app (Evernote is a favourite of mine) and use it as thinking time.
Basically, our bodies weren't designed to be in the 'upright-foetal' sitting position for hours on end and our lower backs usually end up paying for this misstep between modern work practice and evolution.
Set Up Your Workspace Well
Like to see a love-hate relationship? That's exactly what I have with laptops/tablet computers at the moment. You've got to love the extra mobility these give us in terms of being able to work away from our desks, yet I have to admit that I hate the position they make us adopt as soon as you start actually working on them (think crouching or slouching down over the screen - not good for lower back or neck pain). The old, unfashionable desktop computer has them on this score; eye level screens mean that it is much easier to adopt a healthy seated position. Granted, this can be offset by the purchase of a laptop/tablet desktop stand and bluetooth keyboard - must-buys in my view.
The other workspace related question we get are mainly related to chairs. Everyone wants to know which (usually extremely expensive) office chairs they should buy/bug their boss to install in their office. The answer? None. If at all possible (and this is where it is an advantage to have a forward thinking boss), scrap the chairs and replace them with Swiss Balls (or gym balls). The instability of the ball will cause you to have to engage your core much more than if seated on a traditional chair (and coincidentally cause the act of sitting to become much less passive and more active in terms of calorie expenditure). This unconcious core training will have a positive effect in helping to prevent low back pain.
Having said all of that, not all office chairs were born equal and certain chairs (ie the ergonomic ones) are better than others. However, no matter what you choose to park your bum on, if you stay there too long it will cause low back pain to flare up. The act of prolonged sitting itself is the problem - stand up, stretch and get moving!
Exercise Regularly
There is now a wealth of evidence showing that those who undertake regular exercise, of whatever sort, suffer from less lower back pain and that it can indeed act preventatively (see this review from the journal Pain for one such example).
Easy ways to incorporate this? Go for a walk at lunch time and schedule in half-hour home-workout sessions before or after work (only 2% of your day). For the best results, try to include a combination of: cardiovascular exercise such as running, cycling etc; whole-body strengthening exercises, with or without weights; core stability work and back stretches. This kind of proactive approach will have all kinds of knock-on benefits in addition to the elimination of this at-best-case-annoying and at-worst-case-crippling affliction - think better overall mood, a lower likelihood of catching the latest office plague and, of course, a trimmer waistline!
