If you forget a rule, you won’t avoid back pain

It is estimated that the average person spends almost eight hours a day sitting, that is, a third of the day, according to a press release.

However, Greta Maksimavičiūtė, a pharmacist who consults customers at an online pharmacy, says that sitting leads to health problems when it is irregular and breaks are forgotten.

“The sitting position constantly puts pressure on the muscles of the spine and back, which would not be harmful, but the problem is that sitting often takes too long, which puts pressure on the vertebral intervertebral discs, which eventually become drier. and less elastic, and then back pain can occur. “, – warns the pharmacist.

Coach Agnė Mickevičiūtė-Butienė confirms that people who perform sedentary work often complain of back pain (lumbar or upper back, between the shoulders, back), as well as neck or neck pain.

To avoid pain, the trainer advises taking regular breaks during work. According to her, these breaks help maintain and improve the well-being of employees. The coach advises spending at least five minutes every hour on light exercise or stretching exercises. If you don’t have a chance to exercise at work, at least stand up to move, go and talk to colleagues who work in another office.

You also have to pay to sit

Many probably remember the reminders they heard in school to sit up straight and not lean too far over the book. The pharmacist says that these rules should not be forgotten even in adulthood.

“You should sit in front of your computer with your back straight, your legs bent at a 90-degree angle. You should raise the computer monitor to eye level, cross your legs as little as possible,” describes G. Maksimavičiūtė the appropriate position. .

Experts advise not only to change your posture when sitting regularly, but also to make sure that you sit with your foot on your leg. Sitting in this column for so long can overload your blood pressure.

“It happens that when you put one foot on the other, the blood from the feet is directed to the chest, which causes more blood to be expelled from the heart, which increases the blood pressure. It is important to mention that when sitting cross-legged, the weight is generally transferred to a seat, so a heavy load is transferred to the bowl and the hip joints, ”comments the pharmacist.

The pharmacist advises sitting or stretching the legs sometimes while sitting, and most importantly, to normalize working hours and not to sit at work.

Sedentary work is often inseparable from the computer, and when you look closely at the screen, you forget to blink, your eyes are not naturally moisturized, and you may experience redness and dryness. The pharmacist remembers the 20/20/20 rule, which is worth remembering for anyone who works on a computer. It is helpful to remember and rest your eyes, as every 20 minutes there is a 20 second break during which you need to look at the image from 20 feet away (a little over 6 meters).

G. Maksimavičiūtė says that when looking into the distance, the blinking of the eyes normalizes, the pupils of the eyes become wet, the body tension decreases, and the eye muscles relax.

What we do at home is also important

Spending all day sitting in front of the computer at work, it is very important to spend the rest of the day more actively. The trainer recommends going for a walk, swimming, exercising after work, where much attention is paid to correcting movements and muscle stretching.

The trainer advises that it is important to do some stretching exercises even during work, otherwise when you hit a high intensity workout after a passive day, your body may experience a shock.

While it is possible to think that working from home helps prevent further back pain, because everyone has the opportunity to perform stretching exercises, moving, in fact, often causes even more damage to the spine: sitting unevenly, without moving. .

A. Mickevičiūtė-Butienė says that the main cause of pain when sitting is usually an uncomfortable position when sitting and not changing it for a long time, therefore, even if we work in bed, but without changing the position, we will not be able to avoid pain in some muscle groups.

5 tips for working in a sedentary job:

1. Take breaks every hour.

2. Try to sit up straight and cross your legs as little as possible.

3. The computer monitor should be at eye level.

4. Find time to do stretching exercises.

5. Take a walk after work.