Get Well Soon: Sitting at a desk all day can lead to many aches and pains

One of my patients recently switched to a desk job, and since then has had terrible, frequent flare-ups of neck and back pain. In order to help her take control of the situation, I wanted her to understand what sitting all day can do to the body.

When we sit for a while, the muscles that are flexed actually shorten, becoming chronically tight and tense. If you spend much time at a desk or on a computer you probably know some of the muscles I’m referring to. When the psoas (which attaches the spine to the front of the thigh) is tight it causes low back and hip pain, and can promote an abnormal and unstable sideways curve in the spine. The upper trapezius and pectoralis tighten, causing hunched, rounded shoulders — a painful posture also associated with insecurity and low self-esteem. When these muscles in the front shorten, the ones in the back are constantly stretched out, making them feel sore. A back massage on these stretched muscles feels good, but they will go right back to being sore if the muscles in the front remain shortened.

When most people think about herniated discs, they think of an injury. Actually, a strong, normal spine is pretty resilient, but too much sitting can change that. When seated, we tend to flex forward. The flexing joints are in the back of the spine, leveraging exponential pressure on the discs in front. After a while of putting up with this, the disc begins to bulge out. This bulge can put pressure on the nerves that go from the spinal cord to the arms and legs, causing shooting pain and numbness.

After examining the patient thoroughly to make sure there was nothing more serious causing her pain, I made some recommendations about simple changes to her work habits. First, that she sit in an ergonomic office chair with a seat that tilted forward, only flexing her legs to 130 degrees at the hip, lengthening the psoas muscle and reducing leverage on the discs. Alternately, an inflatable air disc can be used on the seat of the chair: the unstable surface causes the core muscles to engage, forming a supportive back brace; it also allows gentle stretching by rocking the pelvis side-to-side, front-to-back. She also moved her computer monitor up, so that the bottom was level with her eyes. Looking slightly up at her screen balanced the weight of her head over her shoulders, so her neck and back muscles didn’t have to work so hard keeping her upright.

After a week of following these recommendations, plus a couple of others specific to her case, she already feels like she can perform her desk job all day without a painful flare-up. We are both confident that, now that her job isn’t actively making her worse, she will be able to focus on getting better.

- - -

Dr. Diana Doty is a chiropractor who is fairly new to Naples but is already in love with the warm optimism and quirky individuality of everyone she’s met here. Dr. Doty likes working with people to help empower them to take charge of their own health. This column is a story about how it is possible to co-manage your healthcare with your doctor, but please talk to your doctor first about what is bothering you so you can be certain you know what you’re dealing with. Please feel free to call or e-mail me with any questions: (239) 659-0476, drdianadoty@gmail.com.

© 2010 marconews.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.