Watching Your Back at Work

Sitting in front of a computer screen with your body planted into an anything-but-comfortable chair can definitely do a number on your lower back. Add to that the stress, which sometimes goes along with the 9-to-5 workdays and your back is in for trouble.  A recent study in Finland has found that a little exercise can go a long way at the office. 

A group of office workers who had complained that their back pain was restricting their effectiveness on the job were measured by the researchers before teaching them some simple exercises that could help with their daily backaches. Over 15 weeks the workers were taught and performed various forms of light resistance training.  

The study showed a statistically significant decrease in the intensity of low back pain symptoms attributable to exercising. After exercising for only five minutes every day during the work week subjects' back pain decreased by 19 percent.  

Doctors of chiropractic treat back pain with a number of different techniques, including adjustments, stretching and strength exercises, and hot/cold therapy. 

Sjogren T, Nissinen K, Jarvenpaa S, et al. Effects of a workplace physical exercise intervention on the intensity of low back symptoms in office workers: A cluster randomized controlled cross-over design.

Four Walks May Be Better Than One

Three or four short, brisk walks throughout the day can be better than a long bout of exercise for those watching their blood pressure. You might think, 'I don't have the time to go to the gym or work out for 40 minutes, but I might have the time to do 10 minutes here, 10 minutes here and another 10 minutes here,'" said Janet P. Wallace of Indiana University. "Four 10-minute walks would be ideal." The study compared the effect of accumulated versus continuous physical activity on pre-hypertension, an elevated blood-pressure level that typically progresses to hypertension or high blood pressure. The study found that both forms of exercise, accumulated and continuous, decreased study participants' blood pressure by the same amount. The effect lasted for around 11 hours in the group who took four 10-minute walks, compared to seven hours for the group that walked continuously for 40 minutes, according to the study published in the Journal of Hypertension.