Sitting for prolonged hours used to put a lot of pressure on my back muscles and spinal discs. This pressure resulted in stubborn lower back pain. This pain was often debilitating. It was painful both when I was in a sitting position and when I was away from my desk. My improper sitting posture was the main variable worsening the pain.
When in a sitting position for prolonged periods, the first instinct people tend to have is slouching forward. We reach for that keyboard and mouse. Everything goes downhill from there. Slouching can strain the spinal discs and overstretch the ligaments.
Years ago, my physical therapist was hitting me in the head for a $50 copay thrice a week. It wasn’t helping. I had to figure out ways to improve my sitting position during the time I was outside of the physical therapist’s office.
Simply “sitting up straight” wasn’t enough to relieve this pain. I had to take an intentional, yet simplified approach. There are many ways to avoid lower back pain and other back related injuries. This article talks about the 4 most helpful habits I implemented on how to sit properly to avoid lower back pain.
Nothing on my website is medical advice. It’s for informational purposes only. I share my experience, what has worked for me, and what hasn’t. I talk about the poor posture mistakes I’ve fixed and the good posture habits I’ve learned.
You are your primary caretaker. Not your doctor, therapist, surgeon, coach, or physical therapist. They all play a role. But, they also have their own agenda and their own motivation that’s not always in our best interest, regardless if it’s intentional or not. Do your research and make your own good decisions. Be the best advocate possible for your own healthcare.
How to Sit Properly to Avoid Lower Back Pain
Habit 1: Learn About the Natural S Curve of the Spine
Photo by Sgame via Megapixl
“Sitting up straight” isn’t good enough. Any sitting position can fall under one of 3 categories. These categories are compressed, overextended, and neutral (I also sometimes refer to neutral as balanced). Compressed and overextended are very poor sitting positions. The spine compresses when slouching forward takes place. Conversely, the spine overextends when we sit up “too straight”. A compressed or overextended sitting position will lead to spinal disc degeneration more quickly than a neutral sitting posture. This is why I make sure to keep a neutral, balanced sitting posture as much as possible.
A neutral, balanced spine is the optimal sitting position. I also make sure I stand up every 15 minutes or so, even if I am sitting with good posture. Sitting at a computer desk isn’t the enemy. Repetitive strain is the enemy. Even if we are in a healthy sitting position, repetitive strain and gravity will still take a large toll on our bodies. Sitting with poor posture will exponentially increase that toll.
Habit 2: Use a Lumbar Support
When we are in sitting posture, our glutes are the main base support of our upper body. We’ll cover glutes in a future article. Our lower back is one of the next most important body parts that supports our upper body.
I’ve tried different ways of lumbar support. These ways range from using an ergonomic chair, to lumbar pillows, to a rolled up towel placed between my lower back and chair. All of our bodies are unique. We all have different daily habits and physical variables to consider. That said, I don’t want to recommend a specific lumbar support. There’s no way of knowing that a certain lumbar support will work well for everyone. Find something that is comfortable and works for you. Also, I stand up every 15 minutes, regardless if I have poor posture or good sitting posture. Repetitive strain is the enemy, not being in a sitting posture.
Photo on the right: The user is slouching forward, which could be contributed to by her compressed, internal shoulder rotation.
Her ankles are also overextended in a poor posture. I used to keep my feet like this. It led to dysfunction in both my ankles and knees.
Photo by Reneshia via Megapixl
Habit 3: Learn About Internal Shoulder Rotation and How to Avoid it
There’s a good reason we’re talking about shoulders during an article about lower back pain. Everything in our bodies is connected to each other. This includes muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, fascia, and soft tissue. There was a major cause/effect relationship between my internal shoulder rotation and my lower back pain.
Typing on a keyboard and using a mouse typically causes us to rotate our shoulders internally. This causes us to slouch forward in a compressed spinal position. The effect of being in this poor posture for long periods of time was the main catalyst for my lower back pain. As I learned more about internal shoulder rotation, I learned how to avoid it while in a computer sitting position. I spent more time with my shoulders in a balanced, neutral position. I began to slouch forward less. My lower back pain decreased.
Habit 4: Keep Your Feet Flat on the Floor When in Sitting Posture
Just as my shoulders’ poor posture contributed to my back pain from the top down, keeping my feet in a bad position contributed to my back pain from the bottom up. It caused the arches in my feet to collapse and the tendons in my ankles to weaken. This dysfunction in my feet put more stress and tension on my legs as a whole, which increased my lower back pain. Sitting without my feet flat on the floor not only caused this pain when I was in a sitting position, but in all aspects of my physical life.
Thanks for your interest in sitting posture. If you’ve read this far, congratulations! You’re taking very valuable steps forward to improve your quality of life. Feel free to forward this article to a friend or family member who sits at a computer for a living.
If this article was helpful, check out my book titled “45 Ways to Improve Computer Posture.” It’s available in both digital and paperback versions.
>>> Click here to pick up your copy
This book explains how to improve your posture through different variables of health and wellness. These include sitting posture, standing posture, sleep, hydration, and breathing. Poor posture is not just how we sit at a computer. The health habits we practice, 24 hours a day, are directly related to how good (or bad) our computer posture is.
Go to SittingPosture.com/book to learn more.
Take care,
Todd Bowen
P.S. You can sign up for my free computer posture newsletter here.