It is very likely to develop lower back pain, especially if your job involves staying in the same position for a prolonged period.
Here are some tiles to help with the recovery of your LBP or prevent it from happening:
- Be active! That means standing, cooking, cleaning, walking for minimum of 30 minutes per day etc. Your daily activity can be easily measured with steps per day. A good goal would be 8 to 10 thousand steps per day. If you currently have LBP, limit your bed rest. A person’s first instinct may be to lay in bed or sitting for long periods of time. This does more harm than good and can lead to stiffness of some muscles and weaknesses of other muscles. In fact, prolonged bed rest can amount to loss of about 1% of muscle strength each day.
- Setup your work station correctly:
- Feet: Flat on floor
- Hips: Just above knee height
- Elbows: Just above keyboard height.
- Spine: Long
- Middle of Screen: At Chin height. In case you are working on a laptop it would be best to plug in an external keyboard. Keyboard on desk and laptop positioned a bit higher.
- Exercise 2-3 times per week. An example of a complete workout could be:
- Warmup (5-10 minutes) Foam roll and some stretching.
- Strength Training (15-30 minutes): Full body workout in a circuit format. For example Legs, Back, Chest, Core for 6-20 reps depending from the goal of the program and then repeat the circuit for 1-3 times.
- Cardio (15-20 minutes): Walking, Jogging, Running, Rowing, Bicycling etc. Whatever feels good and gets you motivated.
- Cooldown (5-10 minutes): Same as the Warmup.
Disclaimer: Every person should consult their physician before starting any exercise program. They acknowledge that they understand the risks of injury they may incur by following these guidelines.
A structured approach with back pain treatment can speed recovery.