6 Ways To Help Reduce Back Pain At Work

1. Always Practice Proper Posture

One of the best ways to reduce back pain is by practicing proper posture, especially when you’re at work. If your primary role is to carry heavy objects, you should get down in a low squat position, grab the item by its proper handles, and slowly lift it by straightening your hips and knees to avoid adding pressure on your back. It’s important that you don’t bend during the whole process to prevent back pain.  

When you’re sitting at the office for an entire shift, you should allow yourself to sit in a straight position and avoid slouching at all times. Your body and legs should be at a 90-degree angle. Slouching could cause back pain, and it can give you a bad posture in the long run.

2. Adjust Your Workspace

If you’re working in an office setting, you probably have a desk and chair with you to get your job done. While that can be convenient for your productivity, you need to adjust the height to make it easy for your body to practice the proper posture all the time.  

You should adjust your chair’s height and allow your arms to rest on the table at a perfect 90-degree angle. Your feet should also be lying on the ground straight with a 90-degree angle. Along with this, your monitor should almost be at your eye level. This helps you avoid turning your head down and making you slouch as you look at your screen. 

If your office cannot provide an ergonomic chair, you should consider purchasing a back pillow that could help you maintain your posture while you’re sitting on your office chair. An ergonomic back pillow aims to make you feel comfortable and promote proper posture while you sit. You need to place the back pillow on your lower back and try to sit as straight as possible while allowing the back cushion to curve the shape of your body.

3. Keep Yourself Active

Even if you’re just sitting on your office desk all day long, you should always try to stay active even when you’re at work. Staying active doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to work out during your breaks, but you do need to stand up and move around every few hours or so. This helps you relieve the stress and pressure away from your back. 

When you sit too much on your chair, you’re allowing your body to put every weight down to your buttocks, which would eventually cause strain to your body. What you could do is to try to stand up and stretch at least after the first half of your shift. You should allow your back and body to relax from an exhausting day at work as you truly need it.

4. Avoid Wearing High Heels

If your work doesn’t require you to wear high heels, you might want to consider replacing those with something more comfortable such as flats or low-heeled shoes. Wearing high heels allows your body to shift the center of gravity and strain to your feet and lower back, which can cause you pain, especially with prolonged use. Moreover, if your work strictly requires you to wear heels, just opt to wear one-inch heels if possible. 

However, if you need to wear high heels all the time, bring a pair of low-heeled shoes and wear them if you feel uncomfortable in between your shift. Surprisingly, your heels are just one of the clothing that can cause you back pain. Ideally, you should also wear comfortable clothes that allow you to move freely without restraint and added weight.

5. Avoid Placing Your Wallet At The Back Of Your Pants

If you have a habit of placing your wallet at the back of your pants, you might want to consider putting them somewhere else. If you have a bag while you head off to work, you should place your wallet inside rather than placing it at the back of your pants.  

While placing your wallet on your pants may seem to be more convenient, that practice can disrupt your body posture, especially if you have a thick wallet. When your wallet is on the back of your pants, your normal sitting position wouldn’t be straight, and your spine alignment would not be in its proper posture. This could later cause you to develop uncomfortable back pain

6. Take Pain Killers

If you’re feeling intense back pain, and it doesn’t go away by sitting up straight or stretching during your free hours, you might want to consider taking pain killers to help you relieve the pain temporarily.  

While taking pain relievers will genuinely make you feel comfortable during the day, you shouldn’t rely on them as you may develop an unhealthy dependency on the medication. Additionally, it could also put your kidneys at risk when you take pain relievers excessively.  

Ideally, you should only take painkillers when you can no longer bear the pain. During your free time, you might want to consider consulting a doctor that can provide you with a better treatment plan to further avoid back pain from coming back.

Conclusion

Experiencing back pain can be truly uncomfortable, especially if you need to deal with the pain during an entire work shift. While it can be a real inconvenience, you can always look for ways to reduce back pain while at work. For best results, you should always keep yourself active by exercising regularly and stretching your back before and after your shift.