Sitting puts
almost twice the
pressure on
intervertebral
discs as standingWe have only ourselves to blame, since the most common causes for back pain are:
Slouching in chairs
Sitting puts almost twice the pressure on intervertebral discs as standing. Sitting with
rounded shoulders and a hunched back – known as slouching – adds considerably to
this pressure. Since the muscles and ligaments are the main components holding up the
vertebrae, the loss of power means that the weight bearing responsibility is shifted to the
bony parts of the spinal column. This poses a tremendous strain on the spine and is
responsible for disc problems such as disc degeneration and disc prolapse. Thus, it
can be safely said that, in most cases, back pain is a man-made disorder.
When you sit in any chair, a number of important postural control muscles are
inactivated, while others are being asked to work overtime. This leads to the following
muscle problems:
- Shortening of the hamstring muscles
- Overworking of the Erector Spinae muscle group
- Overworking of the Iliopsoas muscle