Sitting for several hours a day can make your lower back feel stiff, tight, or painful. When you work at a desk, drive for long periods, study, or spend a lot of time sitting at home, it adds extra stress to the surrounding muscles.
The good news is that small adjustments to how you hold yourself, set up your workstation, move, and manage your daily routine can often help relieve lower back pain. If the pain persists or begins to interfere with your daily activities, visiting a physio in Melbourne or where you reside can determine the underlying cause and create an appropriate treatment plan.
Why Does My Lower Back Hurt After Sitting All Day?
Lower back pain after sitting is generally caused by staying in the same position for a long time, which can make the muscles around the lower back, hips, and pelvis stiff or tired.
Bad posture when sitting can also cause discomfort. For instance, slouching, leaning forward toward a computer, sitting without adequate back support, or keeping your feet in an uncomfortable position can all increase strain on your lower back.
Only when you understand the causes of the pain will you be able to make changes that reduce the unnecessary stress on your back.
How Can I Relieve Lower Back Pain from Sitting?
Whenever you have pain in your lower back after sitting for a long time, it’s generally best too start by moving gently. If you can, avoid going back right away to sitting for long periods.
Get up, walk about for a few minutes and gradually move your hips and lower back. Keeping moving regularly will help to reduce stiffness and prevent your muscles from remaining in the same position for too long. If your muscles are tight or stiff, heat can also provide temporary relief.
Take Regular Breaks from Sitting
One simple way of reducing lower back pain is to avoid sitting for several hours continuously. Instead of waiting until your back starts to hurt, you should regularly get up from your seat, walk over to get a drink of water, carry out some light stretching or do a few simple exercises before returning to your desk.
Check Your Sitting Posture
The position in which you sit can influence the amount of stress placed on your lower back; when sitting at a desk, it is important that your feet are comfortably on the floor, your shoulders are relaxed, and the screen is at a comfortable height.
Your hips and knees should generally be in a comfortable position and not be raised or lowered by a large amount. It is not advisable to continuously hunch forward or to sit on the edge of your chair without having some support.
Try Gentle Lower Back Stretches
Mild stretching can help relieve the stiffness caused by sitting for long periods, and a number of people find gentle knee-to-chest stretches, pelvic tilts, or slow lower back rotations to be comfortable.
It isn’t true that every exercise is suitable for every individual; an exercise which is beneficial for one person could make symptoms worse in another. If an exercise makes your pain worse, causes you serious discomfort, or leads to symptoms such as numbness or tingling, then you should stop doing it.
Strengthen Your Core and Back Muscles
It may help to stretch, but if the lower back pain is due to spending long periods sitting then increasing strength could also be important.
The muscles in your abdomen, back, hips and glutes all assist in supporting your body when you are moving or carrying out everyday activities.
Improve Your Desk Setup
If during the majority of the day you are working at a computer, your workstation can have a big effect.
In order that you may be comfortable, the chair should support you, your feet should be supported and the keyboard and mouse should be positioned so that you do not have to constantly reach forward; the monitor should be placed in such a way that you do not have to bend your neck again and again or lean towards the screen.
Don’t Ignore Lower Back Pain When Working from Home
Since you may use a dining table, a sofa, a bed, or some other surface which is not designed for prolonged computer use, working from home can result in spending longer periods sitting.
It’s advisable when working from home to have a dedicated workspace. You should position your laptop or monitor at a comfortable height and sit in a chair that provides adequate support.
When Should You See a Physiotherapist for Lower Back Pain?
If the lower back pain you have is likely to return, fails to improve with some simple adjustments, or has an effect on your work, exercise, sleep, or daily activities, then you should think about visiting a physiotherapist.
A physiotherapist will be able to assess your symptoms, the way you move, your strength, flexibility, posture and your daily activities in order to find the things that might be causing your pain.
Get Help for Persistent Lower Back Pain
If the lower back pain you have is ongoing, recurring, or having an effect on your everyday life, then it is advisable to get help from a physiotherapist as they will be able to evaluate your condition and give you individual advice.
At Move For Life Physio, we can help with consultations so that you will be able to understand what might be causing your pain and receive a practical plan to improve your movement, strength, and confidence when carrying out everyday activities.