Well that’s it, the school holidays are at an end, and for some people it’s back to work at the desk all day, rather than up and down and interacting with the kids. For others the school holidays provide no such change, and you sit at the desk and computer exactly as you do for the rest of the year. Whichever you do, your back pain could be just around the corner, you just may not know about it….yet!
As a species we are designed to walk …. and walk …. and walk, hunting and gathering. Our brains however, have moved us away from that and these days we sit…. and sit…. and sit.
Unfortunately, our body has yet to adapt to this style of life and the muscles that allow us to walk like no other creature on earth, suffer, leading to back pain issues.
Why does going back to work cause back pain?
Most people who come into the clinic with back pain, fall into one of two categories:
- Most commonly: The pain has come out of nowhere. No heavy lifting, no trips or accident, just pain.
- Less common: They have bent over to lift or reach for something ridiculously light; a handbag, or a pen for example.
- Very rarely: Do we see somebody arrive having hurt their from back lifting a very heavy weight.
There are reasons for these types of pain, and they come back to the biomechanics of the body. The reason most people don’t hurt their back lifting a heavy weight, is that when you lift a heavy weight, you tend to have to lift it properly, i.e. bent knees and close to the body.
It is very difficult to lift a heavy weight in any other way. Something light, however, such as a dropped pen, does not need bent knees and correct lifting patterns to bend down and scoop it up off of the floor. And this is why most back injuries occur.
How does spinal stability affect back pain?
Let me explain further. The reason we can walk, like no other animal, is down to a set of muscles best referred to as the spinal and pelvic stabilisers.
The job of these muscles is to keep the spine and pelvis in a relatively fixed and neutral position, whilst the large prime mover muscles pull on the long bones that make up the limbs.
However, as we have developed in a world in which we do not walk as much as we are capable of, these muscles become weak and fire at the wrong times. You don’t notice this happening, as they are not muscles you engage consciously.
The upshot of this, however, is that the larger muscles designed to move you, have to start acting as stabilisers as well. This creates an overworking of muscles doing a job they are not designed to do, and that gives rise to pain ‘without a cause’.
Furthermore, due to the arrangement of the large muscles, when they contract, they create a compression force on the spine.
One of the functions the spinal stabilisers, is to offset this compression effect. Therefore, when they are not functioning correctly this can lead to issues such as disc problems and facet joint wear and tear within the spinal canal.
So, how do we stop all this happening? Well, we can’t just say go and get a job that involves walking all day, as that sort of job doesn’t really exist. What we need to do is check the function of your spinal and back muscles, to identify what is weak. Check which is firing at which point, and if those patterns are incorrect, retrain them.
Why haven't my back pain exercises worked?
At this point I can hear you all crying, “I have tried exercises for back pain and they haven’t worked”. Exercises commonly given out for back pain, such as :
- The plank
- Cat/Cow
- Reverse bridges
- Leg rolls, etc.
Tend to work the mid layers of the ‘core’ musculature. They don’t target the much deeper spinal / pelvic stabiliser group. In addition, these exercises don’t generally retrain the firing order of the muscles. So they can result in strong muscles, but muscles that are firing at the wrong time, therefore, not achieving the effect of support that the back requires.
There are adaptions we can make to these exercises to encourage them to target the spinal and pelvic stabilisers. However, more often, we need to introduce a more specialised set of exercises to target the correct muscles more specifically. These, more targeted exercises, work on the neurological system, literally rewiring how the brain fires each muscle and in which order. Once we have completed these exercises, we commence with the more common strengthening exercises that you may be more familiar with.
How can you prevent back pain when sitting at work?
So, if the lack of walking is leading to all these back issues, what can you do to limit the effect of modern life on your back. Well, come to see us here at the Reinge Clinic for a check over. We can provide a thorough assessment, designed to pick up weakness and incorrect firing patterns, way before the accumulative effect results in back pain.
Also, there are a few things can do yourself to help limit the decline of the deep musculature:
- You can sit on a stool at the desk rather than a chair with arm and a back. When the trunk is not supported, the stabiliser muscles have no choice but to engage. Leaning against a backrest stabilises the trunk and creates an dampening effect on the spinal stabilisers. There are some great office style stools available with height control and wheels too.
- If you own a gym ball you could also sit on this at your desk, which would have a positive effect on the pelvic stabilisers too.
If you try these and find them:
- Hard or tiring work
- Uncomfortable or distracting.
Come and see us for some checks , because they should be none of those things if everything is functioning correctly.
For more information on general back pain, take a look at the NHS website on this area.
Frequently asked questions on back pain
Can sitting at a desk cause back pain?
Yes. Sitting for long periods reduces the amount of movement your spine and supporting muscles get throughout the day. Over time, this can contribute to weakness, altered muscle recruitment and back pain.
Why does my back hurt when I return to work?
A sudden return to long periods of sitting after a more active summer can place different demands on your spine and supporting muscles. This can make existing weaknesses or movement problems more noticeable.
Should I keep moving if I have back pain?
For most uncomplicated back pain, gentle movement and staying as active as you comfortably can is preferable to prolonged bed rest.
Why haven't my back exercises helped my back pain?
Not all back pain has the same underlying cause. Generic exercises may strengthen muscles without addressing specific problems with spinal stability, muscle recruitment or movement control.
When should I get my back pain assessed?
If your back pain isn’t improving, keeps returning or is affecting your normal activities, it’s worth having it assessed to understand what may be contributing to the problem.