How to Sit Properly to Avoid Thoracic back pain

In the fast moving world, most of the people are left with either no time or minimum time to pay attention to their health and fitness. There are many who just have to sit throughout the day without even having any time to move their body and the muscles. Continuous sitting and lack of movement proves hard on our body.  Sometimes wrong postures also create problems like thoracic back pain, muscle amnesia, alteration in the curvature of the spine etc. Sitting in a wrong posture for 15-20 minutes at a stretch will lead to strain the tissues and result in functional abnormalities. Sitting in a bad posture will cause certain tissues to absorb the excess force that it may not be able to handle. This will lead to deterioration of the tissues. If you sit continuously for a longer duration then this will result in muscle amnesia where the muscles become less active and go to sleep. When the glutes, which are the common buttocks muscles, develop muscle amnesia, the low back gets strained and results in back pain.

You are always required to keep your muscles active for a healthy spine. Here are few tips which can help you in sitting properly and thereby avoid thoracic back pain.

• You have to choose a chair that has a great and proper support. It should be comfortable to rest your back properly, support the formation of perfect spinal curvature thereby reducing the excessive usage of the tissues of the thoracic back and other parts of the back as well.
• Your feet must be flat on the floor when you sit in the chair. The chair should not be a high one pressurizing your thighs and reducing the blood circulation to the lower legs. A low chair will also result in back pain.
• The backrest of the chair should be small to fit your small back or must be curved to provide the required support. If the lumbar support place is not proper then it will result in straining the spine excessively.
• If the backrest of the chair moves forth and back when you move, then you will have to adjust your backrest tension properly to gain adequate support according to your weight.
• The knees should be at least 2-3 inches beyond the front edge of the chair. This will avoid unnecessary pressure on the back portion of the knees where there are many nerves and blood vessels.
• Shoulders must be relaxed and they should not be hunched up.
• The lower arms and elbows have to be lightly rested on the armrests in order to avoid the problems of circulation.
• You can also change your position frequently during the working hours by lowering or raising the chair by adjusting the back angle to the requirement. You can even unlock the back rest occasionally and let it move the way you do.
• You should take short breaks and walk around for 4-5 minutes to reduce the stiffness in your muscles. The short breaks will contribute to moving the joints, proper blood circulation, activating the muscles and thereby avoid the back strain.

Read More:

Medications for your thoracic back pain

Common Tags: back, back and shoulder pain, back pain management, strengthening, thoracic back pain, upper back and shoulder pain, upper back pain relief