Back pain is a common problem for many employees in offices and is even considered a widespread disease. The cause is very often extremely long periods of sitting at a desk in front of a computer as well as physically strenuous activities. To mitigate back pain, it helps to set up your own workspace ergonomically.
What causes back pain?
Back pain is favored by long periods of sitting without movement in between. This is when severe pain sometimes occurs in the lumbar spine, cervical spine and thoracic spine. Not only the innumerable persons concerned suffer from it, but just as many enterprises and enterprises, because the days absent by ill employees and self-employed persons add up to 70 million in completely Germany. Older and younger people in the Federal Republic are equally affected by back pain. One common reason for this is stressful office jobs.
Is back pain considered an illness? Physical and psychological causes
Back pain is not a disease per se, but the result of a wide variety of other ailments. This can be joint wear and tear, i.e. osteoarthritis, or the much more serious ankylosing spondylitis, a progressive ossification of the spine. In the latter case, a workplace that is hostile to the back further aggravates the already severe complaints. Other diseases go by the names of scoliosis, a misalignment of the spine, rickets, a disorder of bone growth, and diszitis, a bacterial inflammation of the intervertebral discs.
No less diverse are the psychological causes of back pain. Pressure, stress and a poor working environment, as psychological causes, sometimes lead to physical consequences. The adrenaline released in stressful situations reduces the immediate pain, but leads to serious health problems in the medium term. In addition, as an employee, you cannot simply flee and escape the situation, which leads to further mental and physical stress. Thus, work really does “go to the bone.”
What should a back-friendly, ergonomic workplace look like?
First of all, it helps to adjust your office chair so that your feet touch the floor while your knees form a right angle. The same applies to the elbows. To do this, you need to manually adjust the height of the armrests. The backrest should end at the level of the shoulders and flexibly rock forward and backward. Less important, is whether, your desk chair has wheels or can do without them. As an alternative to the classic office chair acts a standing desk, but also wobble chairs and exercise balls serve their purpose in preventing back pain. As a stickword, dynamic sitting is important here. While you are sitting, you often change your posture and in this way move all by yourself. Work tables and monitors must be just as adjustable and you yourself sit upright in front of the screen. If you look directly at the computer in front of you, your head is already slightly lowered, so focus rather on the upper edge of the screen.
Propagate health-promoting and back-friendly concepts such as working in a standing position or the sit-stand dynamic using a standing desk. In the following weeks, check again and again whether the desired effects are occurring.
Preventive measures and sport against back pain
Sports and exercise are the be-all and end-all in preventing and relieving back pain. You do not have to jog at top speed, but can just as well take a leisurely walk or practice Nordic walking. Walking and swimming help just as much. Strength training and regular visits to the gym have no less positive effects. On the other hand, sports with violent twisting movements and rapid stretching of the spine, such as golf, squash or tennis, should be avoided. It is best to consult a trusted physician beforehand. Last but not least, it makes sense to exercise before or during work. Larger companies already have their own fitness center or massage services.
