What can I do for lower back pain after a day of sitting?

Lower back pain after a day of sitting

Jessica talks with Lee Albert, NMT · about 6 minutes

Why does sitting make my back ache?

Jessica

It's six in the evening. Someone has been at a desk since nine and their lower back is stiff and aching. What is actually going on?

Lee

Usually not what people think. It's rarely how long you sat. It's how you sat. Most of us sink into the chair. The pelvis tips back. The natural curve in the low back flattens. Do that day after day and a muscle imbalance can build. The front of the hips shortens. The glutes go quiet. The muscles along the spine hold one shape for eight hours. By evening they're tired and tight. So the back often isn't injured. It's been held still, and the imbalance underneath keeps pulling on it.

What can I try tonight?

Jessica

So what do we do about it tonight?

Lee

Two things. Move the spine gently in a few directions. Give the front of the hips some length back. Nothing hard. About fifteen minutes on the floor. Breathe normally.

Jessica

Walk me through it.

Lee

Start on hands and knees with cat cow. Breathe out. Round the back toward the ceiling. Let the head drop. Breathe in and reverse it. Tailbone lifts. Chest opens. Eyes forward and level, not up. One breath, one movement, for about a minute. Stay in a comfortable middle range. It moves the spine both ways. And it shows you which direction feels better tonight.

What if the floor is difficult?

Jessica

And if the floor isn't an option?

Lee

Same movement, sitting in a chair, hands on the knees. It's not the lesser version. It's the one that actually happens.

Lee

Next, knees to chest. Lie on your back. Draw both knees in and hold behind the thighs. Head, shoulders and back stay heavy on the floor. Your arms keep the legs there. They don't haul them in. Thirty to ninety seconds. This is a rest, not a pull. If both knees is too much, take one at a time.

Jessica

Third?

Lee

A supported twist. Still on your back, knees bent. Put a pillow or folded blanket beside one hip. Let both knees drop onto it. Not all the way to the floor. Both shoulders stay down. Stay a minute or two. Then switch sides. Rotation is the first thing sitting takes from the spine. The pillow sets the depth, so a sensitive back can accept it.

Jessica

You mentioned the hips.

Lee

That's the fourth. The one people skip. A low lunge with a short step. Kneel. Step one foot forward, but closer than feels natural. Come up tall. Hands on the front thigh. Let the hips settle forward a little, until you feel a mild stretch at the front of the back hip. Thirty to sixty seconds each side. Sitting shortens the front of the hip. A short hip pulls on the low back from below. That's the imbalance at work. The short step keeps the back from arching to find range the hip should be giving.

Jessica

And the last one.

Lee

A mini bridge. On your back, knees bent, feet flat. Press the feet into the floor first. Then lift the hips a few inches. Small on purpose. Lower slowly, one bone at a time. Twenty to sixty seconds. This is where the stretching stops and the other half starts. Tight in front, weak behind. You're waking up the back of the hips so they can carry some of the load tomorrow.

What should I notice?

Jessica

Five movements, about fifteen minutes. What should people notice?

Lee

Getting out of the chair should feel easier. The back should feel supported, not tired. If a movement sends symptoms down a leg, come out of it. Take the smaller version. More pain after you start is a signal to reduce. Not to push on.

When should I stop and get it looked at?

Jessica

Is there anything that means don't do this at all, and call someone?

Lee

Yes. Pain after a fall or an accident. Pain with a fever, or feeling generally unwell. Pain that wakes you at night and doesn't change when you move. Weakness in a leg, not just pain. Get those looked at. One needs same-day attention: numbness around the groin, or any change in bladder or bowel control. Nothing in this episode applies until that's been ruled out.

How do I stop tomorrow being the same?

Jessica

Last question. How do we stop tomorrow being the same?

Lee

One pillow. About thirty seconds. Fold a small bed pillow in half. Tuck it into the curve of your low back, two or three inches above the belt line. Not on the tailbone. In the curve above it. Start thinner than you think you need. Then rock forward until you feel your two sit bones under you. Stop there. That's neutral. When the thickness is right, sitting upright stops feeling like work. And get up every thirty to forty-five minutes, even for fifteen seconds. Sitting isn't the enemy. Staying still is.