Back Pain from Sitting in an Office Chair

Back pain from sitting in an office chair can be alleviated through adjusting sitting posture, taking regular breaks, applying heat therapy, strengthening the back muscles, using medications, and performing relief exercises. Details are as follows:

Adjusting sitting posture: Maintaining the natural lordotic curve of the lumbar spine is crucial. Choose a chair with a backrest and place a soft cushion at your lower back for support, making your waist more comfortable. Keep your feet flat on the ground, ensuring that your knees and hips are at a 90-degree angle. Avoid maintaining a hunched or forward-leaning posture for extended periods. When working, use an ergonomic lumbar support and make slight adjustments to your sitting posture every 30 minutes to reduce pressure on your lower back.

Taking regular breaks: Sitting continuously for more than an hour can easily lead to impaired blood circulation in the lower back. It is recommended to get up and move around for 3 - 5 minutes every hour, performing gentle exercises such as waist rotations and lateral bends. You can also choose low-intensity activities like standing against a wall or taking a walk to promote blood circulation in the lower back and relieve muscle tension.

Applying heat therapy: For chronic strain-related lower back pain, apply a warm towel at around 40°C to your lower back for 15 - 20 minutes, 2 - 3 times a day. Heat therapy dilates blood vessels, accelerates the removal of metabolic waste, and works even better when combined with gentle massage. However, note that cold compresses should be applied within 48 hours of an acute sprain, followed by heat therapy later. The choice of physiotherapy equipment should be made according to a doctor's advice.

Strengthening the back muscles: Perform core muscle group exercises such as the Superman, glute bridge, and plank every day, for 10 - 15 minutes each session. The Cat-Cow pose in swimming and yoga can also enhance the endurance of your back muscles and improve lumbar spine stability. Exercise gradually and avoid strenuous activities that may aggravate injuries. Patients with osteoporosis need to adjust their exercise intensity.

Using medications: When the pain is significant, you can use non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as diclofenac sodium sustained-release tablets and celecoxib capsules, or topical flurbiprofen gel patches, as prescribed by a doctor. Patients with muscle spasms can take methocarbamol tablets in combination. Patients with osteoporosis need to use anti-osteoporosis drugs such as alendronate sodium tablets in combination, and contraindications should be excluded before use.

Performing relief exercises: Exercises such as pelvic tilts, lunges with hip opening, seated twists, abdominal stretches, child's pose with lateral stretches, and some simple movements while sitting in a chair can all help relieve lower back pain to a certain extent.