Get Up, Stand Up... at your desk

Let's address the need for a sit-stand desk. This topic has become increasing popular for good reason. Many people have back pain! I frequently recommend a sit-stand desk for patients who present with impaired function, pain and degeneration of the low back. Today we discuss if you are a candidate for this type of load management strategy.

Why a Sit-Stand Desk? A sit-stand desk is important. Sitting increases the load on discs in your low back. The sit-stand desk is a workstation that allows you to do both, sit or stand at your work station reducing load on your low back. People who sit for four or more hours in a day have a 9x increase in low back pain, compared with people who sit for one hour(1). There are only 168 hours in a week. The average person spends 64 hours a week sitting(2). How much of your life do you spend sitting down?  Low back disc problem How does a sit-stand desk help me? This setup reduces the load on your lumbar spine. With my experience treating thousands of low back pain patients, reducing pain needs a specific plan. This plan requires a combination of restoring muscle function, improving movement, balancing strength and managing the loads on the low back.  I recommend that you sit for 30-45 minutes and stand for 15-20 minutes. It's time to switch to standing if you are uncomfortable and find yourself shifting around to avoid pain. In fact, I recommend that you subtract 20% off the time it takes to hurt and switch before your back begins to be irritated. Sit-Stand setup Do I need a Sit-Stand Desk? There are multiple factors that must be considered for you to be a candidate. First do you have impaired function, pain or a known diagnosis regarding your low back? Any request must be a reasonable accommodation request. Do you have a legitimate request backed by a note from a doctor? Would the request cause your employer undue hardship? Managing the load on the lumbar spine with a sit-stand desk is vital to maintaining health, slowing degeneration and minimizing both pain and missed time from work. If you suffer from low back degeneration, give us a call at 678-1362 to schedule a consultation. Occupational Evolution References: (1) Tucker, J. "Give your patients the ergonomic advantage." Dynamic Chiropractic, April 2017. (2) Yeager, S. "Sitting is the new smoking- even for runners." Runner's World, July 20, 2013.

Sit, Slide & Lean

Tired of work?  Does work, school or your day make your shoulders sore, tight and achy?  Many people carry their stress in their shoulders.  Are you tired of end of the day aches and pains?  Well let’s do something about that!

We tend to be creatures of habit.  What are your habits at work, in the classroom, or at home? These habits continually stress the muscles, ligaments and joints to repetitively produce the habit. One thing most people enjoy is a seat.  Sitting is not a good position for your body and specifically, your spine.   Taking a seat shortens the hip flexors, bends the spine forward, and places strain on the low back, upper back and neck.  Furthermore practically every action we do when sitting involves reaching in front of us; to type, grab the phone, move the mouse, or grab a drink from our water bottle.

As we begin the second half of the school/work year, let’s review a good position for your desk or work station.  It’s really as simple as “Sit, Slide & Lean” (1).

Sit. First, prior to sitting brace your core and drive the hips back to find the chair, as opposed to crashing into it with a thud, gently locate it with your tush. The chair height should allow 90 degree angles for both the knee and the hips.  The feet remain on the floor.

Slide.  This means sliding your rear end all the way to the back of the chair, so that your butt and back make a corner out the intersection between the back of the chair and the base of the chair. When we leave a gap between our back and the back of the chair, we round our back in order to “fit” into the chair.  This worsens as we tire of holding ourselves fully upright.   This places a tremendous of load, specifically flexion, on the lumbar spine, which may irritate discs. Furthermore it allows ligaments to creep, which is a deformation or stretching of the ligaments. Finally, the muscles such as the hip flexors stay in a shortened and unnatural position for many hours.

Lean.  Lean your back into the chair.  This allows you to maintain a neutral spine. Leaning back allows you to maintain proper lumbar, thoracic and cervical curves and good posture.   Your head will rest naturally over your shoulders, reducing stress on your upper back.   From this position you can maintain a relaxed and comfortable “base position” to accomplish your daily greatness.

So take a minute to step outside of yourself in order to look at how you are holding yourself while you are sitting down.  What would it look like if you could see yourself?  Now try “Sit, Slide and Lean”.  Comfortable, relaxed and confident.  Now look at your most frequent places that you sit… your desk, office, kitchen table, comfy chair, etc and apply the above to your environment. Finally, get moving with ladder reaches.  If you have any questions, give me a call, I’m here to help you.  My goal is to help you move well, live well. 

(1) Dr. William Brady,DC- Personal communication & www.IntegrativeDiagnosis.com