As we get older, our backs often have more and more trouble coping with the pressures of daily life. This is particularly true if we spend more of our time sitting down and less time exercising and being active.
Age, poor posture, and a sedentary lifestyle can cause vertebrae to become out of alignment, disks to bulge, and muscles to tire. The result is back pain. Severe cases require surgery to relieve the pain. However, at Upstate Spine & Sport, we show you how to avoid surgery with simple activities like the ones mentioned below to relieve back pain from sitting. Remember, the only bad posture is one that you spend too much time in!
Move Around Every 20 Minutes
For many of us, work involves sitting down and facing a computer screen for eight or more hours every day. During that time, your back is exposed to constant mechanical pressure, and the muscles that support the spine can become weaker from disuse.
Simply getting up from your chair and walking around the office – or tending to quick household chores if you work from home – can help relieve back pain from sitting. This simple task of microbreaks can help loosen up the muscles in your back and prevent them from causing permanent pain. It also gives your vertebrae and discs a break from the stress they are under when you sit.
Take Breaks to Stretch Your Legs and Back
In addition to the short breaks that you take throughout the day, it is a good idea to take a longer break every so often to stretch the muscles in your legs and back. A common cause of lower back pain from sitting is tightness in the muscles as a result of inactivity.
Stretching and movement therapy is great. If you want us to do the yoa for you, that’s the basis of stretch therapy. A chiropractor in Greenville, SC at Upstate Spine & Sport can guide you to a specific movement and stretch therapy to help the movement of your lower back.
Get Regular Massages from a Licensed Massage Therapist
Sometimes, despite all the steps we take to remain active at home and work, back pain can linger. A massage that is designed to loosen up and manipulate the muscles in your legs and lower back can relieve tense and knotted muscles. This will ensure that your spine and body, in general, are in good alignment so you can handle the physical stresses of sitting, walking, and lifting objects without pain and stiffness. Upstate Spine & Sport provides therapeutic massage therapies, including sports massage in Greenville, SC. Contact us today to schedule your massage.
Sit on a Stability Ball Instead of an Office Chair
A stability ball is a large inflatable ball that physical therapists and chiropractors use in various therapies. If you sit on a ball instead of a typical office chair, the muscles in your legs and lower back that support your body have to work continuously in order to keep your balance and prevent the ball from rolling out from under you.
This changes the static experience of sitting in a chair into a dynamic experience that builds muscle strength and flexibility without requiring you to take your eyes off your work.
Get a Standing Desk or a McKenzie Lumbar Roll
Compared to sitting at a desk, standing and walking use more muscles to maintain good posture and support the spine. For this reason, sitting and standing in the course of your workday can relieve pain and pressure on your lower back.
Purchasing a Mechancial Diagnosis & Therapy (McKenzie) lumbar roll is another effective way to mitigate low back pain. It provides support for the lumbar spine while in a seated position. Remember, the only bad posture is one that you spend too much time in, so microbreaks are still king.
Upstate Spine & Sport | Helping Relieve Back Pain | Greenville, SC
Upstate Spine & Sport is a professional and licensed provider of chiropractic medicine serving Greenville, Greer, Simpsonville, and the surrounding South Carolina communities. We take a holistic approach to patient care and strive to improve your quality of life using a combination of massage and other therapies in our office and therapeutic exercises that you can do at home.
If you are looking to relieve back pain from sitting or any other pain in your neck or shoulders, don’t wait for the problem to worsen. Contact Upstate Spine & Sport at (864) 400-8005 to schedule an appointment today.
