What to do if you have backpain due to many hours of sitting although going to the gym between those hours?

Question

What to do if you have backpain due to many hours of sitting although going to the gym between those hours?

I mean that are there any good (rather finnish if possible) sites on computer ergonomics? I know that one needs to keep about rest every one hour, but how long and what should I do? I know what I can do, but how long? And then this backpain is focused on middle back and I notice that when I sit straight, this pain occurs, but when little leaning against back, it does not seem to be so much pain than previously.

Answer 1

Try standing. Seriously. Ask your supervisor for an adjustable desk or for a tall desk and an adjustable chair, or rig a setup of your own. I work standing for at least an hour a day by putting my laptop on a bookcase. I also try to do non-computer work (e.g., reading papers, conference calls, etc.) standing up.

I sit quite a bit as well, and often with suboptimal posture, but just a few hours of standing a day seems to counteract that fairly well. Your mileage may vary, but for me this works well.

Answer 2

Back pain from sitting comes down to developing poor habits during the 8+ hours you re sitting. Slouching and poor posture will relax or force the muscles into unusal positions, and over a course of time will cause discomfort. What needs to be done is to retrain the muscles to work properly and to provide good support for your spine.

The best suggestion I have is this 12 minute routine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BOTvaRaDjI

I do this every week, maybe a little more often, and it focuses on building a stronger 'core', focusing on the hip flexors, gluteals and lower back.

Additionally, focusing on building stronger abdominals to ensure even tension across your 'core' to ensure good pelvic alignment will go a long way to reducing or even eliminating your pain.