We typically spend around a third of our waking hours at work, so this week we’re taking a look at some of the questions around spinal pain in the workplace, and what the best evidence has to say about it.

Low back pain in the workplace

Much has been made of time spent sitting in the workplace and its relation to low back pain, leading to the relatively new phenomenon of standing desks.

However, two large scale reviews (here and here) found no relationship between sitting at work and low back pain. One even found that sitting at work may have a protective effect against low back pain.

But studies done on changing work environments with the aim of reducing low back pain tell a different story.

This study found a reduction in lower back pain with each one-hour reduction in sitting time at work, while the impact of sit-stand desks showed positive correlations as well. Two reviews (here and here) found significantly less low back discomfort with the use of sit-stand desks when compared to sitting desks. There were also some beneficial metabolic effects: the amount of calories burned went up and obese participants found a beneficial change in their blood glucose levels when using sit-stand desks.

So here we have a bit of a discrepancy. When we change desks in trials, we see a reduction in lower back pain. But when we simply measure without changing anything, how much we sit doesn’t seem to matter.

One idea is that the psychological effect of feeling “looked after” by changing desk matters more than how much you stand or sit at work. If that sounds a bit ‘out there’, it won’t once you see what the research has to say about neck pain.

Neck pain in the workplace

The influence of the working environment on neck pain is much less conflicted. This review looked at many different studies and there were some choice findings.

Some factors that were mildly associated with neck pain:

• Spending more than two hours continuously at a computer before taking a break

• More than six hours use of mouse & keyboard per day

• Subjectively rating a workstation as very uncomfortable

Four risk factors stood out as making you more likely to suffer neck pain:

• Female

• Aged over 30

• History of neck trauma or neck symptoms

• Negative affectivity (frequently experiencing negative emotions)

In all of these factors, supervisor support was the only consistent buffer in preventing these things from becoming significant. Having said that, ergonomic considerations do matter – so make your desk as comfortable as possible.

What you can do about it

• Low back pain evidence is conflicted, but if in doubt, change something!

• Neck pain can be affected by posture and your desk environment but the major modifier is your emotional state and relationship to your work supervisor

Overall it seems pain in the workplace may be more related to emotional factors and feeling supported by your boss than anything else; it’s certainly the thing most likely to make it better.

The usual chiropractor’s advice still applies here: 

1. Movement is medicine, motion is lotion; the fitter you are, the more tolerant your tissues become. Try a mobility programme like WFH Essentials from The Digital Chiropractor.

2. Fix your desk environment: monitor, keyboard, comfortable chair. Take regular breaks. And of course…

3. Consult your chiropractor if you need further assistance.

If, after all this, you still have problems with your spine and you think work is to blame, maybe consider changing your desk. Just not in the way you were thinking.