Posture, an accident, or a health condition can be the source of pain in the lower back while sitting.
One of the most prominent medical conditions in the United States is back pain. In any three-month cycle, about 1 in 4 adults in the country have at least 1 day of back pain.
Here, we describe the causes, treatments, and prevention of lower back pain while sitting.
What does it feel like?
Back pain can be serious, so it happens unexpectedly and typically lasts for a few days or weeks. Or, pain that lasts more than 12 weeks can be chronic.
Sudden and sharp or a dull, constant ache may be pain in the lower back.
Causes
While sitting, a variety of factors can cause pain in the lower back, and the best treatment approach depends on the cause.
Over-the-counter pain management medicine, physical therapy, a new workout routine, surgery, or a combination may be included in the recovery plan.
Posture
Lower back pain may be induced or exacerbated by poor posture. Improving posture requires altering the location of an individual when they sit or stand. It can also alleviate the pain or relieve it.
Injury
While lifting something incorrectly, a person could injure their lower back, leading to a strain or sprain in the area.
Instead, the injury could result from trauma, for example, sustained during sports or from a car accident.
Sciatica
Sciatica occurs when the sciatic nerve, which passes through the buttocks and stretches down the back of the leg, is squeezed by something, and the problem may cause pain in the region.
The pain may be extreme and it can feel like an electrical shock or a dull ache.
Herniated disk
A herniated disk refers to a disk that bulges outwards in the spine and presses on a spinal nerve. It can impact any disk that is in the spine.
Treatment for this condition usually involves medication and physical therapy
Lumbar disk disease
Usually, lumbar disk disease, also referred to as degenerative disk disease, is not a disease. Typically, it arises from aging.
It occurs when the disks wear down between the spinal column vertebrae.
Spondylolisthesis
A vertebra of the lower spine slipping out of place and pinching nearby nerves is involved in spondylolisthesis.
Home care strategies
While sitting, a person does not need clinical treatment for lower back pain.
Sometimes, to ease the pain and prevent it from returning, a person should take measures at home. Some tactics include:
Staying active
It may be tempting to rest as much as possible, but to relieve lower back pain, the medical community suggests remaining active.
However, try not to do too much at once. Instead, consider incorporating physical therapy with other home therapies or the prescribed type of exercise below.
Using heat and cold
It can often help ease lower back pain by alternating between heat and cold.
Taking a hot bath or using a bottle of hot water can help relieve the pain. Heat can also improve the flow of blood to the region and facilitate healing in the back muscles and tissues.
It can also relieve pain by applying ice packs or bags of frozen vegetables to the area, but make sure to first cover them in a cloth.
Over the counter, heating or cooling sprays are also available and they can stimulate the nerves in the region.
Taking medication for pain relief
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicines, or NSAIDs, can help alleviate lower back pain. Many are available without a prescription, including ibuprofen.
These drugs prefer to be taken orally by people, but they also come as creams , gels, patches, and sprays.
Stretching and completing exercises
Exercises and exercises can help to strengthen the lower back and avoid the incidence of pain.
Muscles can also help speed recovery from chronic lower back pain by routines concentrating on working the heart, or abdominal, muscles.
For instance, yoga may help relieve lower back and neck pain, and other types of exercise that can help include:
- swimming
- walking
- Pilates
Stretches that can help alleviate lower back pain include:
- Deep lunge: Kneel on one knee, with the other foot in front. Facing forward, lift the back knee up. Hold the position for 5 seconds.
- Back stretch: Lie on the stomach, using the arms to push the upper body off the floor. Hold the position for 30 seconds before allowing the back to relax.
- Sagittal core strengthening: Standing 3 feet away from a wall with the feet should-width apart, tighten the abdominal muscles, then reach through the legs to touch the wall, keeping the hips and knees bent. Use the hips to push the body back to a standing position, then extend arms and reach over the head and slightly backward.
Seeing an osteopath, chiropractor, or physical therapist may also help an individual. To help alleviate lower back pain, these therapies work with stretches and exercises.
Prevention
In people with obesity and individuals who smoke, lower back pain is more prevalent.
People who are rarely active are often more likely to experience lower back pain, as are individuals who appear to be inactive but participate in strenuous exercise regularly.
The best sitting position
The Health and Human Services Department advises against slouching and suggests that you sit up straight, with your back against the back of the chair and your feet flat on the floor.
When seated, they also suggest keeping the knees slightly higher than the hips.
Diagnosis
A healthcare professional will ask the patient about their medical history and conduct a physical exam in order to ascertain the cause of back pain.
Further tests are typically not required if the pain is acute, unless the pain results from an injury.
Treatment of chronic pain depends on the cause, and an alternative may be surgery.
When to see a doctor
If lower back pain is extreme, permanent, or does not improve with stretches, exercises, and other home care strategies, seek medical attention.
Even, if the pain results from an injury, call a doctor.
Summary
One of the most common reasons that individuals see doctors or miss days at work is back pain.
Though it can be encountered by school-aged children, the problem appears to occur and escalate with age.
An individual should take steps, such as improving their posture, to avoid back pain. A variety of recovery methods, including stretches and exercises, will also help when the pain occurs.
