Five Top Tips to Prevent Back Pain in the Office

Today I want to talk to you about one of the major causes of long-term sick leave… back pain in the office and in particular how to prevent and manage it.

Most of us will have back pain at some point in our life, and in general, it will last a few days and go away. However, unfortunately, there are those who suffer greatly with back pain, reducing mobility, function and eventually causing the sufferer to take time off work. The most common causes of back pain are strained muscles, wear and tear, bad posture and stress.

Office workers are not strangers to back pain and this is generally due to the fact they spend long hours of the day sitting at a desk, and sitting stresses your spine 30% more than standing does. Sitting poorly in front of a computer for hours on end is going to lead to trouble.

The body can only tolerate being in one position for a short time before it needs to adjust. Unfortunately, however, we are all guilty of getting engrossed in what we are doing at our computer, we forget to keep a check on our posture and don’t get up and move for hours. This sort of behaviour, common in the office setting, can lead to and also exacerbate back pain.

Being a physiotherapist for the past 10 years I have seen lots of patients with back pain and I have noted that a lot of them struggle to manage their symptoms in the workplace.

Here are my top 5 ways to prevent and combat back pain in the office:

1) Workstation set-up

An appropriate workstation set up is essential for preventing back pain. You should take into consideration your seat (which we will cover later), the computer screen position, keyboard position, mouse position and desk equipment layout. If you’re not sure how to set up correctly ask your manager to arrange a workplace assessment for you or get My Mobile Physio to come in and show you.

2) Seat Height and Position

Seat height and position need to be correct to prevent back pain. The seat should be adjustable, your feet should be firmly on the floor, and your thighs should be at right angles to your body or sloping down slightly.

3) Straighten up!

This is an obvious one but keeping a good posture throughout the day, greatly reduces your chance of back pain. Sit up straight at your desk, look forward and avoid slouching or leaning forward.

4) Take regular breaks.

Don’t sit in the same position for long periods. Frequent short breaks are better than fewer long ones as it gives the muscles a chance to relax while others take the strain.

5) Avoid anxiety and stress.

Muscle tension is a common reaction to anxiety and stress, and subsequently can lead to or worsen back problems.
Exercise or take part in relaxing activities to manage your stress and anxiety levels.

That’s what I wanted to share with you guys today and this is what works for our back pain patients. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Or if you want to talk more about this or you think you have a patient, friend or relative that could benefit from our input, please drop us an email or give us a call.

That’s it for today, thanks for watching!