4 Ways You May Be Hurting Your Back Without Knowing It

Your spine is a workhorse, allowing you to stand up straight, bend, and flex; when everything works correctly, we don’t even think about it.

Unfortunately, out of sight, out of mind means you may fall into bad habits that hurt your back without even knowing what you’re doing wrong.

At Interventional Pain Center, Dr. James Stephens offers pain management services, including diagnosing and treating all forms of back pain, at our office in Legacy Office Park, Norman, Oklahoma. To that end, we want to discuss things you may be doing that may hurt your back without your knowledge.

4 ways you can hurt your back without knowing it

You’d think you’d know if you hurt yourself, but that’s not necessarily the case. Here are four ways it can happen without you knowing it.

1. Tech neck from poor ergonomics

A human head weighs an average of 10-12 pounds. That’s a fair bit of weight, but your spine and muscles can easily handle it when you stand or sit up straight.

However, if your workstation is ergonomically unsound (meaning your computer is not at eye level), or if you constantly look down at your tablet or phone, the muscles in the back of your neck must contract harder to hold your head in a tilted position. The more you look down, the harder they work, and the more tired and sore they become.

If you tilt your head and neck forward a mere 15 degrees, your muscles feel like they’re lifting a 27-pound weight. Over time, this builds up stress in the soft tissues.

The constant bending of the neck can also cause wear-and-tear damage to the cervical (neck) spine, and you may develop pain from an abnormal curvature or degradation of the neck’s tissues (e.g., herniated discs).

The lesson? Sit up straight.

2. Lifting from the knees

If you have a manual labor job that requires lifting heavy objects, or if you’re busy redecorating your house and moving furniture, you probably bend a lot to pick things up.

If you bend over and lift, you’re lifting from your back, which stresses and damages your vertebrae and soft tissue supports. This action compresses nerves, radiating pain from your back into your legs (sciatica).

It’s much better to squat down to grab the object and lift it from your knees while keeping your back straight. Yes, your legs might be a bit achy at first, but they’ll recover, and your back will thank you.

3. Smoking

We kid you not. Smoking isn’t only bad for your lungs and your heart but your back, as well.

Numerous studies show a link between smoking cigarettes and back pain. Smoking damages your arteries, the conduits that take oxygenated blood from your heart to the rest of your body. Scientists think the damaged arteries in the discs (cushions between vertebrae) and joints in your back may lead to pain and injury.

Smoking also increases your risk for osteoporosis, a bone-thinning disease that can lead to incredibly painful, spontaneous compression fractures in the spine. If you’re at risk for osteoporosis (the biggest risk is for small, white women of European descent), get a DXA scan to determine your bone density and take medication to grow new bone.

4. Sitting for too long

Your body was built for motion. Sitting is fine, but you strain the muscles painfully in your back if you sit too long. You also put yourself at risk for blood clots in your lower limbs and increased weight from lack of movement.

If you’ve got a desk job, get up every half hour or so for a 1-2 minute walk around or some light stretches. Try to put in some time before or after work for cardio, strength training, and overall body movement.

Want to learn more about caring for your back or research ways to eliminate back pain? Call our office at 405-759-8407 or use our online booking tool to schedule a consultation with Dr. Stephens today.