Three Workplace Related Causes of Back Pain You Never Thought Of

When people think of what causes back pain, they often believe that all of a sudden, they make a quick movement or pick up a heavy object and their back gives out. While this may happen in some circumstances, it is far more likely that conditions leading up to a sudden traumatic injury have much more to do with the resulting pain than the proximate cause itself. While there are a large number of reasons for back pain, here are three that are not often discussed.

First, people who have a static work posture for long periods of time will create compression forces on their spine and discs. Especially if workers are forced to perform tasks in a posture with a flexed trunk (bending over), there is a greater risk and higher incidence of developing back pain over time. These types of postures can greatly increase the forces on the lower back and the longer they need to be held, the more likely it is that chronic discomfort or injury will be the result.

A second cause of lower back pain that is not often discussed is simply sitting down while working for long periods of time. Long-term sitting postures at the workplace have a tendency to lead to chronic back discomfort. People who sit down hunched over a computer for 8-10 hours every day are asking their lower backs to perform functions for which it was not designed. Just getting up and extending the back with a stretch periodically throughout the day can help prevent long-term pain.

Finally, a very little-discussed cause of back pain is vibration, especially if it is occurring when in a seated position. Sitting in a car or on the bus or train for several hours a day while commuting to work can cause stress on the spine and connective tissues. These vibrational forces are unpredictable and challenge the body's ability to stabilize the spine. Over time, sitting while vibration is going on can lead to chronic back pain, even though the cause and effect may never be linked.

Everyone who works and commutes to work for significant periods of time should take into account these three uncommonly-discussed workplace-related causes of lower back pain and injury. Variety in back position and a periodic adjustment of posture can help prevent some of the soreness these postures and conditions cause, but it is also important that people simply limit the amount of exposure they have to the pain-inducing situations.