5 Ways to Reduce Back Pain When Working at a Desk

Back pain is the most common reason people come to see us, and for many of them the cause is not a single injury but the slow accumulation of long days spent sitting in one position. The good news is that desk-related back pain usually responds well to a handful of simple changes. Here are the five we recommend most often in clinic.

1. Get your screen and chair to the right height

The top of your screen should sit roughly at eye level, an arm's length away, so that your head stays balanced over your shoulders rather than craning forward. Your chair should let your feet rest flat on the floor with your hips slightly higher than your knees. If you work on a laptop, a separate keyboard and a stand or a stack of books will transform your set-up for very little money.

2. Change position more often than feels necessary

There is no perfect posture, only the next one. The spine is designed to move, and even a good position becomes uncomfortable if you hold it for an hour. Set a reminder to stand, stretch or walk for two minutes every thirty to forty minutes. Take calls standing up. If you have a sit-stand desk, alternate rather than standing all day.

3. Strengthen, do not just stretch

Stretching feels good, but most desk-related back pain is a problem of endurance rather than tightness. The muscles that support your spine tire out during long periods of sitting. Two or three short sessions a week of simple strength work, such as bridges, dead bugs and bird dogs, builds the capacity to sit comfortably for longer.

4. Walk before and after work

A brisk fifteen-minute walk at each end of the day is one of the most effective things you can do for a stiff back. It restores movement, improves circulation to the tissues around the spine and breaks up the pattern of car, desk, sofa.

5. Look beyond the desk

Sleep, stress and general activity levels all influence how much your back hurts. If you are sleeping badly or under pressure at work, your back is more likely to complain about the same chair that felt fine last month. Addressing the whole picture usually helps more than any single ergonomic gadget.

When to get help

If your pain has lasted more than a couple of weeks, is getting worse, or is accompanied by pain, numbness or weakness in a leg, it is time to see a physiotherapist. A thorough assessment will identify what is actually driving the problem and give you a plan to fix it.

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