Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Causes Of Back Pain
Wrong Sitting Posture Can Cause Back Pain
Sitting up straight? Relax, don't strain your spine
(Straits Times Interactive, 29 Nov)
LONDON - SITTING up straight at your desk may not be good for you.
A new study has found that it puts too much pressure on your spine and contributes to back pain, the BBC reported yesterday.
The best position in which to sit at your desk is leaning slightly back, at about 135 degrees, Scottish and Canadian researchers concluded after testing subjects with the help of a new form of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
The research - carried out at Woodend Hospital in Aberdeen, Scotland - involved the scanning of 22 volunteers with healthy backs.
The subjects assumed three different sitting positions: a slouching position, in which the body is hunched forward as if they were leaning over a desk or a video game console, an upright 90-degree sitting position; and a 'relaxed' position where they leaned back slightly, at about 135 degrees, while their feet remained on the floor.
The researchers then measured spinal-disc movements across the different positions. Such movements occur when weight-bearing strain is placed on the spine, causing the discs to move out of place.
Disc movement was found to be most pronounced with a 90-degree upright sitting posture and least with the 135-degree one.
Dr Waseem Bashir of the Department of Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging at the University of Alberta Hospital, Canada, who led the study, said: 'We were not created to sit down for long hours, but somehow modern life requires the vast majority of the global population to work in a seated position.
'The best position for our backs is arguably lying down, but this is hardly practical.'
