Back pain is a prevailing problem nowadays. Almost every person in the world suffers from back pain at least at one point in life.
Why do You have Back Pain while Standing?
A postural disorder is the most common underlying reason for low back pain. Commonly, more pressure is exerted to your vertebral column when you are standing or walking and because of this, your back muscles become taut and sometimes, muscle spasms happen. This can cause severe back pain.
Additionally, some other potential causes pain in the lower spine while standing or walking are:
1) Muscle Fatigue
Muscles in the lower back or legs can become tired or even sprained with prolonged standing or walking. This results in severe lower back pain. The discomfort or pain is usually lessened with lying down to take proper rest.
A person who is more prone to develop back pain while standing or walking because the vertebral column has to support extra body weight.
2) Back Spraining
Spraining of the back can occur due to overstretching of ligaments.
3) Muscle Strain
It occurs when too much force is exerted on the muscles leading to muscle pain.
4) Spinal Stenosis
Spinal stenosis is a condition in which the inner section of the vertebral column, also called the spinal canal, is reduced because of narrowing of cavities and thus extra pressure is exerted to the nerves or even spinal cord, causing pain.
Mostly, this condition affects the lumbar region of the back where it results in pain while standing or walking. Other symptoms of lumbar stenosis are weakness, numbness or tingling sensations in the legs, buttocks and lower back. It can also result in sciatica, which is a sharp type of pain radiating to leg.
5) Degenerative Disc Disease
It is a condition in which the intervertebral discs present between two adjacent vertebrae are broken down due to age-related wear and tear changes or any other cause. This causes the reduction of space and irritation or impinging of surrounding spinal nerves. Usually, the symptoms of degenerative disc disease are improved while walking, but this pain is aggravated when the patient is standing for a prolonged period of time, bending, performing twisting movements or lifting weights.
6) Hyperlordosis
It is a condition in which an excessive inward lower spine curvature is present. The buttocks become more prominent in this condition. When the persons having such curvature lie on their back, they have a noticeable large gap in their lower back region.
Hyperlordosis makes the lower back hurt and leads to discomfort and pain in the lumbar region of the back which also has a bad impact on the movements of the patient and the pain in this condition is aggravated by prolonged standing.
How to Prevent Back Pain while Standing?
Here we’ll describe some tips to prevent your lower back pain while standing.
1) Exercise
It is a good practice to exercise for at least half an hour five days a week. It is more beneficial to combine low and high-intensity workouts, for example, aerobics exercises, walking, swimming or bike riding, etc. As some people might find it difficult to exercise given that their pain is aggravated either by standing or walking, it is recommended to start with any activity that doesn’t further strain the person’s back.
2) Adopt a Good Posture
Always try to adopt good posture while walking. Do not lean forward while walking, avoid slumping and keep your back straight. Bad posture is the major culprit of back pain which happens while standing or walking. By practicing good posture, you can live a pain-free life.
3) Make Proper Ergonomics
Make appropriate adjustments to your workstations to ensure you have proper ergonomics. Place the screen of your computer or laptop at eye level and use a comfortable chair which supports your back.
4) Use Good Lifting Techniques
If you work in a job which involves heavy weight lifting, use proper lifting techniques. When you are lifting a load, hold the object by keeping it close to your body, bend at the knees rather than at the weight, and do not lift the things which are too heavy.
5) Take Care of Your Diet
Sometimes, pain also may occur due to dietary deficiencies. So, you should eat a balanced diet containing all the micro and macronutrients. Consume plenty of vegetables, milk, fruits, whole grains, and lean proteins, and ensure you get enough Calcium and Vitamin D.
6) Quit Smoking
If you are a smoker, the first and best step must be to quit. This is because nicotine causes a reduction of blood supply to the intervertebral discs, which do not have sufficient supply to begin with. Thus, the risk of disc prolapse, disc hernia, and other back injuries are enhanced.
How to Stand with Back Pain?
If you are among one of the persons who suffer from lower back pain while standing, here you can find some tips for you to try to mitigate this issue:
- Do not stand for long periods of time.
- Try to keep one foot on a step. This is helpful in limiting the excessive curvature of the vertebral column in standing position.
- Do not wear high heeled shoes. High heels cause the enhancement of curvature at the lower part of the vertebral column which results in the compression of facet joints and back pain.
- Try to do adjust your workstation in a way that allows you to switch from sitting to standing.
- Use hot or cold fomentations. You can use either hot packs or cold packs or alternate both with each other. You can use an ice pack as a cold fomentation and a hot water bottle as a hot fomentation. Apply each pack for twenty minutes on the aching area, then take a break from applying these packs for half an hour and then apply again. You can apply these packs ten to twenty times a day.
- Use over the counter available pain medication. NSAIDs are the best in this regard. They significantly reduce inflammation and pain. Commonly used NSAIDs are aspirin, naproxen, and ibuprofen. Acetaminophen also has a good pain reducing the effect.
- Decompress your spine. Standing up with a compressed spine may exert additional pressure on a spine that is already under a lot of physical pressure. As such, by decompressing your spine and stretching it out, the pressure lessens. You can decompress your spine with the help of a device that is simple to use, called the Backrack.
Backrack Spinal Decompression Device
Author: Spinal Backrack
