If you sit at a desk job like most of us, then you no doubt have suffered from occasional low back pain

In fact one of the main causes of low back pain in adults in our society is in fact prolonged sitting. That seems strange I know, but the reasons behind it make a lot of sense. You see the main cause of low back pain is in fact the disc and while the disc is pretty resilient it also can be quite fragile under certain circumstances leading to low back pain.

For example studies have shown that there are 2 distinct time of the day that we are more prone to low back pain. First thing in the morning because as we sleep the disc draws in fluid passively which creates a stiffness in the disc. This makes the disc fibers very fragile under loading and can create an episode of low back pain. The other time is…you guessed it. After prolonged sitting. So what is prolonged sitting? Well the literature defines it as 15 minutes or more, that’s all it takes to give you low back pain.

So why does this cause low back pain?

When we sit most of the time we are not in the ideal posture, most of us have a tendency to round our lower backs which puts a lot of anterior stress on the disc increasing our chances of lower back pain. When this happens the soft inner portion of the disc begins to migrate backwards putting excessive pressure on the outer fibers making them much more fragile at the moment. This leads to a very serious problem if a person tries to bend or twist or pick something up right after they have been sitting.

That is the main reason people are blown away after they hurt themselves and develop low back pain. They can’t for the life of them figure out, what did I do? The answer is simple…nothing you just sat too long and put yourself at risk. So how do you combat this danger?

How do you protect yourself from low back pain?

Easy! Make sure when you get up from sitting you take a minute to extend your back. Just stand up straight and put your hands in the small of your back and lean back slowly. Do that about 10 times holding each for a few seconds and that’s it. I know it seems simple, but it helps low back pain.