Are you currently working from home and suffering from a stiff and painful low back?
Whether you’re a male, female, young or old, back pain is always present in our day and age. Recent statistics show that up to 16% of Australians will experience low back pain one way or another over their life course.
Given the current COVID-19 situation, we have seen an increase in people working from home, whether it be in their study room, dining table, lounge, or even on their bed. As a result, we have noticed an increasing trend for low back pain. As much as we enjoy lounging around on our bed or couch, unfortunately, our body aren’t designed to be in these sustained postures, but rather be mobile and active. The lack of movement and mobility causes a build up of joint stiffness and muscle tension eventually leading to pain.
Why am I feeling low back pain?
When it comes to low back pain, there are 3 main areas that can be causing your pain.
- 90% of cases are commonly associated with your muscles, joints, discs and/or ligaments in around the back
- 9% of cases can be associated with nerve roots or nerve passages.
- <1% of cases can be related to serious pathology or condition
As we continue to work from home, posture, work set-up and activity becomes a strong focal point for preventing low back pain. The most common reason for low back pain results from bad posture while seated. Now that we are all working from home, having a poor work set up can lead to worsening posture and ultimately leading to back pain. Sitting in a hunched and forward position for prolonged periods, the discs (cushion like structures between our vertebrae) become strained over time, muscles become over stretched and joints become irritated, all of which lead to the feeling of low back pain.
Tips for Low back pain
Don’t stress! Back pain is very common, particularly during these tough times, majority of cases can be treated and avoided. With a few tips to help increase mobility and decrease the effect on the associated muscles, discs and joints, you can get back to doing what you love just that little bit closer.
1. Exercise
Exercise is very good for not only your physical well-being but also mentally. One of the tips that can be beneficial for your body as a whole, not just your low back, is to get out and about to do some exercise. Personally, there is no particular exercise that is better than the other, but rather, doing something you the enjoy the most is key. Whether that be swimming, running, cycling or just going out for a walk. What you do is not important, as long as you’re out and about, your body will thank you for that. Once a day or every two days would be great!
2. Work set-up
Now that working at home is becoming more of a norm for us, having the right work set up is very crucial. Here are some key points to help with improving sitting posture and decreasing the stresses on our joints, muscles and discs.
3. Take frequent breaks
As mentioned before, our body aren’t designed to be stationary and stuck in a chair for long periods of time, especially when we have to be in front of a desk for greater than 7 hours! Another tip that I would like to share would be to take small but frequent breaks during your long work hours. Every 1-2 hours, getting up to perform some of the stretches below can be very beneficial for your muscles and joints. These stretches only take about 1 to 2 mins of your time, therefore should be very easily managed.
4. Lastly, get assessed.
Everything mentioned above is a few tips and tricks to get you through the day and week working from home. All of it is a general guide to give you some idea of the causes of back pain. Not all back pain is the same and its causes may differ from person to person. If you are experiencing or have experienced any stiffness or low back pain, I would recommend making an appointment to get it assessed properly to avoid it getting any worse.
As per the NSW Health guidelines, we are an essential services and we remain open to help you. At Health House Clinic, we are dedicated to assisting you reaching your goals and rest assured, we currently have COVID safety protocols in place to ensure that we everything is safe for you and everyone.
To find out more, contact us on (02) 95248862 or email me directly at robert@healthhouseclinics.com.au
