How to Reduce Back Pain in the Office

How to Reduce Back Pain in the Office

This content was medically reviewed by our providers on July 18th, 2022.

If you’ve ever been on a long road trip, sat for several hours at a conference or have an occupation that involves prolonged sitting, you know the effect that sitting can have on back pain. This has an especially negative impact on an existing back pain condition.

The science behind it is that sitting in one position for an extended period puts pressure on your spinal discs — the flat, rubber-like cushions between each bone in your back. These discs contain nutrients like water, oxygen, glucose and lactic acid.

Continuous compression on the spinal discs reduces disc nutrition and forces water out of the discs. Disc degeneration is likely to occur with reduced disc nutrition and forced-out water leads to herniated discs. This compression increases with poor posture. As a result, inactive sitting and poor posture can cause various back pain conditions.

Since many of us work in occupations that require prolonged sitting, it pays to know how you can prevent back pain in an office setting. Check out several tips for reducing back pain at work below.

1. Set Up Your Office Chair in an Ideal Position

An ergonomic office chair has the potential to maximize back support. Still, you can only reach that potential if you adjust it to the right settings. If we all had the same body, there’d be a one-size-fits-all option that wouldn’t require fine-tuning. Since everyone is different, the ideal settings for an ergonomic office chair vary for each person.

Let’s start with the basics of an ergonomic office chair. The first step in adjusting your ergonomic chair is to make sure you have one. Ideally, an ergonomic office chair will:

Provide adjustable lumbar support
Have various height settings
Contain adjustable armrests
Have tilting mechanisms
Feature seat width and depth adjustment capabilities
Offer a five-star base with wheels
Have cushioned seating

After ensuring your office chair is sufficiently ergonomic or purchasing one, the next step is to adjust it to fit your body’s needs. The first adjustment you should make should be the height. The chair should be high enough to comfortably work at your desk while keeping your feet planted on the floor. If your desk is too high for your feet to touch the floor, consider investing in a footrest to support your feet.

You can divide the rest of the settings according to:

Elbow angle: Adjust your chair so that you can comfortably rest your elbows at a 90-degree-angle without lifting your shoulders and upper arms too much. Your upper arms should be parallel with your spine.
Thigh measure: You should be able to slide your fingers underneath your thigh at the front of the chair easily. If the distance between your thigh and the front of the chair is too small, prop your feet up with a footrest or tilt the seat of your chair down. Your knees and hips should be level with your thighs a finger-width above the front of your chair.
Low back support: There should be a cushion that pushes your lumbar spine outward to support your spine’s natural curves. This cushion prevents any tendency you may have to slump forward while sitting, which puts excess pressure on your vertebrae and discs. Make sure the lumbar support is at a height that naturally supports your lumbar curve. You can also increase or decrease the support it provides to fit your back’s needs.
Calf measure: With your hips set back in the chair, clench your fist and see if you can fit it between the front of the seat and your upper calf behind your knee. If you can’t, the seat is too deep. You may need to increase the lumbar support or find a different office chair that isn’t as deep.
Resting eye level: With the computer screen in front of you, close your eyes while sitting tall with your head straight up and down. When you open your eyes, they should easily rest with your sights on the middle of the screen. Adjust either your chair or computer accordingly.
Armrests: Adjust your armrests so that they provide a slight lift to your shoulders and arms and keep your forearms parallel to the floor. The armrest is important because it takes some pressure off your spine and shoulders and prevents the urge to slump forward.
Backrest: Make sure the backrest is at a 90- to 100-degree angle to the floor. It’s also helpful if the backrest has reclining capabilities that allow you to lean back and stretch periodically.
Seat: The seat of the chair should tilt slightly forward to allow for a proper thigh measure. It should also have enough cushioning to comfortably support prolonged sitting. Breathable fabric is the best option for seat material.

2. Use an Alternative to Traditional Office Chairs

The ergonomic specifications laid out above are for traditional office chairs. You can also find alternative chairs that support your spine more actively. Some of these alternative office chairs include:

Swedish kneeling chair: The Swedish kneeling chair has no backrest, but it does have a tilted seat and leg rests affixed to a stationary or rounded platform like a rocking chair. The leg rests provide stability, while the tilted seat opens up your hips and tilts your pelvis forward. This hip-opening and pelvis-tilting action allow the spine to maintain a natural curve effortlessly.
Exercise ball chair: Exercise balls are often touted for their core strengthening abilities. People also use them as an alternative to traditional office chairs, citing lower back pain relief. While some research supports claims that exercise balls improve core strength, it doesn’t support claims of lower back pain relief. In fact, some research even suggests that exercise ball chairs increase back pain.
Saddle chair: Saddle chairs, also known as saddle stools, look and function similarly to equestrian saddles. Like the Swedish kneeling chair, they lack armrests and backrests. The seat is tilted downward and out so that it opens up your hips and tilts your pelvis forward. The saddle chair doesn’t have leg rests, so your feet rest on the ground. A 2018 study shows that saddle chairs pose fewer ergonomic risks than traditional office chairs.
Convertible standing desk: Convertible standing desks allow you to raise your desk so that you can work from a standing position. Since prolonged standing can also contribute to low back pain, a convertible sit-to-stand desk is recommended over a standing desk alone. Convertible sit-to-stand desks allow you to switch your position throughout the day to stay active and reduce spinal disc and vertebral compression.

3. Wear Supportive Footwear

You may be surprised to hear that footwear and back pain are connected. However, the body is an interconnected whole from your head and spine to your toes. A misalignment in one area can cause problems in another. With that in mind, your shoes can either contribute to back pain or take pressure off your back and spine.

For example, high heels provide minimal support and adversely affect spinal curvature and walking patterns, increasing your risk of back pain. While high heels have an elegant allure, they’re not recommended to wear from a health point of view.

In contrast, shoes with supportive insoles can control problems like excessive foot pronation and improve chronic lower back pain. Foot pronation is a natural movement of the foot and ankle when you walk, where the ankle slightly rolls and your foot arch tips inward. This action is meant to absorb shock. With excessive pronation, the foot and ankle become misaligned, causing problems with the spine. Overpronation is a common problem that worsens with insufficiently supportive shoes.

To reduce back pain in the office and improve workplace ergonomics, consider having custom orthotic insoles created that are suited to your musculoskeletal structure. These insoles will ensure your foot and ankle are well-supported, positively impacting your spinal health. Wearing supportive footwear with insoles is especially important if you spend any length of time standing at your workplace.

4. Maintain Good Posture

A critical culprit of back pain in the office is poor posture. When sitting at a desk all day, it’s easy to gradually start slouching until you find yourself hunched over your computer when the clock strikes 5:00 p.m. Still, it’s important to instill habits that promote good posture, as back pain is likely to occur otherwise.

Besides general back pain, poor posture can also cause the following problems:

Misalignment of your musculoskeletal structure
Weakened spinal tissues, making your spine more fragile and prone to injuries
Neck and shoulder pain
Reduced flexibility and range of motion in your joints
Decreased balance, increasing falling risks

The position of your spine is the key to good posture. Whether sitting or standing, you want to ensure your spine’s natural curves are supported but not increased. That is, you want to keep your spine in a neutral position. Overall, your head should be directly above your shoulders and your shoulders should be over your hips. That said, there are other things to consider for good posture when sitting or standing.

When sitting in a traditional office chair, good posture involves:

Keeping your feet flat on the floor or a footrest with your ankles in front of your knees
Relaxed shoulders
Elbows close to your body and bent between 90-120 degrees
Keeping your back straight with lumbar support that supports your spine’s natural curve
Sitting in a well-padded seat with your thighs and hips parallel to the floor
Keeping the center of your computer screen at eye level to avoid neck strain

When standing, you can practice good posture by:

Standing with your spine straight and tall
Keeping your shoulders back.
Pulling your stomach in.
Transferring most of your weight to the balls of your feet
Keeping your head in a level position
Letting your arms hang down naturally at your sides
Keeping your feet shoulder-width apart

5. Stay Active

If you already experience back pain, you may avoid movements while sitting for fear they could worsen your back pain. You may know specific movements or positions will increase your pain more than others. Static sitting positions are more associated with chronic lower back pain than dynamic positions. The difference between static and dynamic sitting positions is staying in the same sitting position for extended periods and switching your sitting position at specific intervals.

With that in mind, it’s a good idea to change your sitting position often if you work at a desk to avoid experiencing or increasing existing back pain. Some ways you can do this include performing pelvic rotations, getting up and walking around or doing a simple stretching exercise. To avoid aggravating an injury, find a stretching exercise or movement that is gentle on the tender area.

It’s also essential to stay active when you aren’t sitting at a desk. Without exercise, the core muscles that support your back and spine weaken. Weakened core muscles can worsen your back pain by providing inadequate support to the tissues in your spine, such as your vertebrae, discs, ligaments and other tissues. Regular exercise can reduce back pain by strengthening your core muscles and increasing tissue support.

Besides strengthening your core muscles, you should perform core flexibility exercises that stretch the muscles and ligaments in your back. As you stretch these tissues, they improve your overall mobility.

If your office space allows, you may be able to perform some core strengthening and stretching exercises in your office on a break. Here are some exercises that are ideal for anyone dealing with back pain:

Hamstring stretches: To perform a hamstring stretch, lie on your back and bend one knee. Lifting the other leg, loop a towel or resistance band under the ball of your foot. Straighten your knee and gently pull back on the towel or resistance band until you feel a gentle stretch down the back of your leg. Hold that position for 15-30 seconds and repeat two to four times on each leg.
Bridging: With a bridging exercise, you’ll lie on your back with both knees bent, arms flat to your sides and only the heels of your feet touching the floor. Pushing your heels into the floor and squeezing your glute muscles, lift your hips until your body forms a straight, diagonal line from your knees to your shoulders. Hold this position for five seconds, then slowly lower your hips to the floor and rest for about 10 seconds. Repeat as often as feels comfortable. Avoid arching your back and tightening your abdominal muscles.
Plank: To correctly do a plank, lie on your stomach with your forearms on the floor and feet together. Push into your forearms to raise your body until your body forms a straight line from your head to your neck. Gazing at the floor, hold this position for around 30 seconds if you can, then lower your body and rest. You can repeat this in two to three sets.

Other exercises to try to get rid of back pain at work include wall sits, walking, swimming, cycling, pilates moves or yoga.

We’re Here to Help Reduce Your Back Pain at Metropolitan Pain & Spine Institute

If you continue to experience back pain in and out of the office, you may benefit from seeing a spine specialist. The spine specialists at Metropolitan Pain & Spine Institute are here to help you find back pain relief. We can diagnose the problem, provide effective treatment options and teach you ways to strengthen your back.

To schedule an appointment with one of our spine specialists, please get in touch with us today!

Resources:

How to Reduce Back Pain in the Office