Injure Your Back Just by Sitting for Too Long

One of the main risk factors for people suffering from back pain is sitting for prolonged periods of time. And the person's posture for the length of time they sit may not have anything to do with creating the conditions that lead to discomfort or injury of the lower back. This article will discuss why sitting can lead to a back injury and chronic soreness, as well as what doctors and clinicians agree are some ways to mitigate the risk of becoming injured as a result of sitting for too long.

The main problem is that many people sit in a position where their lower spine is flexed. With this rounding of the low back, more pressure is put on this area. As well, sitting down causes a loss of activity in the muscles of the abdominal wall. The abdominal muscles are important for adding stability to the spine, especially when the spine is in positions that may put it at risk for injury. And sitting down puts the spine in one of these positions, and then turns off the muscles that should provide the stability to prevent injury.

In fact, prolonged sitting can actually cause disc herniation. A herniated disc occurs when one of the discs in between the vertebrae in the spine begins to bulge out of the spinal column. This can lead to pain in the back at the site of the injury, a lack of proper movement and functioning, and even nerve damage. Thus, finding better ways to sit and prevent back injury is extremely important for people who have careers where they spend much of their time in front of a computer.

The easiest way to prevent a low back injury from sitting is simply changing postures frequently. People sitting in a position with their spine flexed may be at risk of herniating a disc over time. But sitting straight up also increases some types of muscle activation which put even more pressure and compressive loads on the spine. Changing the position in which one sits can help to transfer these loads to and from different tissues. This will help make sure that no one position is held long enough to cause serious injury.

It is also important that people get up from time to time while they are working. Sitting down for hours and hours -- even if they change sitting positions -- can still lead to fatigue and injury. But standing up and extending the back can help the spine return to a neutral position and reduce the prolonged compressive loads that occur after prolonged sitting. The maximum amount of sitting has been recommended to be about 50 minutes at once before a break should be taken, although this will differ for each individual.

It may come as some surprise that sitting can lead to back injuries as serious as a herniated disc, but the truth is that the compression of the spine that occurs during sitting can lead to the conditions that cause back pain. But changing sitting positions and occasionally getting up and extending the back can help prevent such problems for a large number of people who must sit for most of their day while they are working.