Millions of Americans work desk jobs or in a position where they are very sedentary for an extended part of their day. If you sit for eight hours a day, five days a week, it’s not uncommon to develop back discomfort or even chronic back pain. However, if you are a little proactive in how you approach your job and life outside the office, you can work to reduce or completely alleviate your back pain. In today’s blog, we share some tips for reducing lower back discomfort if you work a desk job.

Combating Back Pain If You Work A Desk Job

You don’t need to completely overhaul your life to combat back pain if you work a sedentary job, you just have to make a few tweaks to your daily routine, and odds are you’ll notice a big improvement in your symptoms. Here’s a look at some of the ways to help reduce back pain if you’re stuck at a desk for an extended period each day.

1. Break Up Long Seated Periods – When you’re seated for a long time, your spine is holding static stress, oftentimes in the lumbar spine. This may not feel all that strenuous in the moment, but over time it will break down structures and contribute to continued pain. Try to get up and move for a couple minutes at least once an hour. Even if that’s just walking to the end of the hall and back or to refill your water bottle in the break room.

2. Stand – Standing will help to take pressure off your lumbar spine and better disperse the stress of gravity and your body weight. See if you company will invest in a sit-to-stand workstation, or find ways to incorporate more standing in your day. Take that conference call on your feet!

3. Exercise – When you’re not in the office, commit some time to an exercise routine. Make sure that these exercises don’t overlook your core, because core stability helps to support your spine. Don’t just focus on your arms and your legs, do some core strengthening exercises, and you back will become stronger and better able to handle stress.

4. Mind Your Diet – A poor diet can be pro-inflammatory, whereas a healthy diet can help to calm inflammation that could be compressing areas in your spine. Plan ahead so that you have healthy meals at the office and you don’t fall in the habit of grabbing fast food because you’re ill-prepared.

5. Posture Checks – Poor posture can also put additional stress on your lumbar or cervical spine, so if you are going to be seated for an extended period, make sure that you have ideal posture. Regularly check your posture to make sure that you’re sitting up straight, with your head directly above your shoulders. Make corrections any time you notice that you’re out of alignment.

6. Connect With A Specialist – If you’re still dealing with chronic back pain even after pursuing some of these techniques, connect with a specialist like Dr. Cohn. He can get to the bottom of your spine pain and suggest additional conservative techniques to help manage discomfort. If more hands-on care is needed, he can provide pain-relieving injections or perform a minimally invasive procedure to put an end to your pain.

For more information, or to talk to a specialist about your back discomfort, reach out to Dr. Cohn’s office today at (952) 738-4580.