Putting Back Pain into Perspective

To put back pain into perspective approximately 98% of back pain patients are diagnosed with nonspecific acute back pain which has no underlying serious pathology. Most instances of back pain can start spontaneously; individuals are often unaware of how they may have brought it on.  Usually the cause is due to a muscle problem, this means it is much more likely to happen to people who are relatively active and relatively young, adults up to the age of 50 for example. Most of these cases are usually resolved and are commonly known as lumbago.

However back pain is very common, it is estimated that 52 million working days each year are lost due to back pain. “Slipped discs” or herniated discs as they are now known, plus strained muscles and trapped nerves are some of the causes.

One of the recognised causes of back pain is poor posture, the temptation to slouch is within us all, you will recognise the feeling, you have had a hard day at work, and the TV is on…within minutes you find that you have snuggled down into the chair and morphed into a really poor sitting position. People can remained slouched in this type of position for a considerable period of time. This then puts strain on your lower back.

What we need to be doing when sitting is to use a chair with a hard, straight, vertical back. Place a slim cushion in the small of your back or alternatively purchase an ergonomic chair, whichever chair you use, make sure you rise form the chair and walk around every half an hour or so……….