Severe Back Pain | How Sitting Can Ruin Your Back

Bottom Line: Our bodies are designed to move! A large number of the population, are trapped commuting to work or spending long hours at a desk hunched over a computer screen which causes severe back pain. For all of the advantages of the modern world, we have noticed an increase in sedentary tendencies. Shockingly, sedentary lifestyles have been linked to a vast array of diseases. Researchers have found that sitting is the new smoking! Yes, it’s true. Spending too much time sitting may be one of our most challenging health epidemics.

Why it Matters: Sitting each day for hours can wreak havoc on the muscles and support system of your lower back causing severe back pain. The deep stabilizing muscles of your lower back atrophy and your hamstrings shorten or become tight. When the strong stabilizing muscles are weakened, you are more likely to have a spinal injury. After an injury, many of us slow down our activity and proceed to be sedentary even more. It’s a vicious cycle! But you have the power to stop this cycle with a combination of Chiropractic care and exercise. Here are a few pointers:

Too much sitting is now considered as dangerous as smoking.
Our bodies are designed to move.
Sedentary lifestyles can lead to a vast array of diseases, but exercise and chiropractic can halt many of these challenges.

Next Steps: Too much sitting can be considered dangerous, you should take a few moments each day to be active. Standing desks are a fantastic way to change positions and keep your back healthy while still getting work done on the computer. Also, taking short breaks each hour to stretch or walk around the office is a great way to increase your energy level and engage the muscles supporting your lower back and in turn avoid severe back pain. If you’re technologically savvy, there are even wearable devices available you can program to give you a small vibration as a reminder that it’s time to stand up and get moving!

Bulletproof Your Low Back

Unable to bend over to tie your shoes or do the things you once loved? Ready to kick back pain to the curb? In our upcoming webinar, we’ll cover how to stop the downward spiral of low back pain, what the latest research says, and the one thing you should stop doing immediately that is making your problem worse. Register for the Bulletproof Your Low Back webinar while seats are still available.

Science Source(s):

Traditional and Emerging Lifestyle Risk Behaviors and All-Cause Mortality in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: Evidence from a Large Population-Based Australian Cohort. December 2015

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