How to Protect Your Back When You’re Sitting at a Desk Most of the Day

Office jobs are notorious for causing chronic back pain. Sitting at a desk all day in the same position can lead to pain that becomes a bigger issue over time. As with most problems, prevention is better than treatment when it comes to work-related back pain.

Take Breaks

At a certain point, the pain may become so severe that back pain treatment becomes necessary. But before it comes to that, here are four strategies for protecting your back when you spend most of your day at your desk. An uninterrupted workday spent entirely at your desk is a recipe for serious back pain. The human body is not meant to spend the whole day in a single position, and it is especially ill fit for being doubled constantly over a desk. Try to get up and move at least once an hour.

Invest in a Quality Chair

Even if it’s just to the bathroom to wash your face, this little bit of movement will go a long way toward preventing chronic pain. It is also likely to reduce stress, which can in turn have a positive impact on physical health. If your workplace doesn’t offer a quality desk chair, then take the plunge and invest in one yourself. Some chairs are especially designed to be easy on the back. Sitting all day at an uncomfortable chair doesn’t make you tough, it makes you a likely candidate for chronic back pain that could give you problems the rest of your life.

Work on Your Posture

Sitting all day at an uncomfortable chair doesn’t make you tough, it makes you a likely candidate for chronic back pain that could give you problems the rest of your life. Bad posture can be a direct cause of office-related back pain. If you have a tendency to slouch in your chair, then your spinal ligaments are overstretched and the disks around your spine are susceptible to strain.

Keep Your Soles Flat on the Floor

Try to be conscious of your posture, and keep your upper body erect. It can be easy to forget about posture during a busy day at work, so consider putting a reminder on a sticky note by your computer. This is a useful trick that will help encourage you to maintain good posture. By keeping the bottoms of your feet flat against the floor, you force yourself to adopt better posture throughout your body. Try it now, and you’ll be amazed by how much more upright you immediately feel. Again, a sticky note is a good idea to make sure you keep up this practice.