Dr. Stefano Sinicropi, M.D.

We typically associate sitting down as being a relaxing position, especially when compared to moving or standing. For a number of different areas of your body, they are under much less stress when you’re seated, but that’s certainly not the case for all areas of your body. One area that oftentimes finds itself under more stress when you’re seated is your spine.

Many people find that their back starts to hurt after an extended seated session and they begin to wonder what’s causing their discomfort. In today’s blog, we take a closer look at five potential causes of back pain from sitting.

Back Problems Caused By Sitting

Here’s a look at five back issues that can develop or be worsened by prolonged sitting or poor seated posture.

1. Disc Degeneration – Everyone experiences spinal disc degeneration to some degree. The stress of life and natural aging can lead to some expected degeneration as we get older, but this deterioration of our spinal discs can be exacerbated by prolonged sitting and a sedentary lifestyle. Disc degeneration and a loss of a healthy disc height can lead to pain, discomfort, spinal instability and other uncomfortable symptoms that may be more noticeable when you’re in a seated position.
2. Bulging Or Herniated Disc – A seated position tends to put more strain on your lumbar spine and it can also overstress your cervical spine if you have poor posture when seated. This can cause your supportive spinal discs to bulge or even fully herniate, which is painful in and of itself and can also irritate nearby spinal nerves. Overstressing your spinal discs tends to lead to herniation, but prolonged pressure when seated can also increase your risk when it occurs over the course of many years.
3. Soft Tissue Strains – Soft tissues in your back are hard at work supporting your spine and neck when you’re in a seated position. If you have poor posture and you sit for an extended period, these tissues will be hard at work for a long time, and that can cause them to strain. Your muscles may feel stiff, achy or even strained if you make a habit out of sitting for extended periods.
4. Sciatica – Sciatica is a condition in which the sciatic nerve, the largest nerve in your body, becomes impinged somewhere along its path as it traverses from your lower back and down each leg. When you’re in a seated position, it’s more likely that the narrow passage through which this nerve travels becomes even more restricted. If this nerve becomes impinged, you may notice localized or radiating discomfort. Sciatica tends to be most noticeable when sitting or moving, while laying down oftentimes leads to a short-term reduction in symptoms.
5. Spinal Stenosis – Spinal stenosis is similar in nature to sciatica, in that it involves irritation or damage to the spinal nerves that traverse your spinal column. If the spinal foramen narrows, which is the opening in the vertebral area through which the nerves pass, a nerve can become compressed or impeded, leading to localized or radiating symptoms. Sometimes this foraminal narrowing is due to injury, repetitive strain or aging, but it can also be the result of a sedentary lifestyle and poor posture habits.

To get to the bottom of your back pain, we recommend setting up an appointment with a specialist like Dr. Sinicropi. Because back pain that develops during or after extended sitting can be caused by so many different issues, it’s important to hone in on a specific cause so that the right treatment methods can be pursued. For a clear diagnosis and individualized treatment plan, reach out to Dr. Sinicropi and the team at The Midwest Spine & Brain Institute today at (651) 430-3800.

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