Four Strategies to Make Seated Work Less Stressful on the Low Back

Its been said that sitting is the new smoking and frankly, we couldn’t agree more.  We can link so much of what we see in the office to prolonged sitting. Here are four proven strategies to reduce low back troubles during prolonged sitting.

1. Use an ergonomic chair. Most chair manufacturers would have you believe the best seated posture is 90 degree angles at the hip, knees, and elbows. This is erroneous; the ideal sitting posture as documented by Callaghan and McGill is one that has you sitting in a variety of positions throughout the day. Changing postures relocates the loads among tissue, decreasing tissue fatigue. A truly good ergonomic chair would be one that allows you to change to a variety of postures easily throughout the day

2. Get out of the chair. Recently proposed guidelines suggest a sitting limit of 50 minutes without a break. Go to the restroom, fill up a water bottle, stand when talking on the phone, get up and stretch (preferably into extension, not flexion). The current recommended break time is at least 10-20 seconds. Don’t give me any BS about how you can’t take 10-20 seconds and stand up!

3. Remove wallet (phone, notepad) from back pocket. This should be old news, but we still see it on occasion. It has been well documented that the wallet can be an irritant to the sciatic nerve and it un-levels the pelvis.

4. Perform an exercise routine at some time in the workday. The middle of the workday would be ideal, but definitely not first thing in the morning. Preferably a workout routine that includes elements of mobility and stability or motor control.

Credit: McGill, Stuart. (2016) Low Back Disorders: Evidence-based Prevention and Rehabilitation. (194-196)