Urban office goers face increasing incidence of spine problems, say doctors at Indian Spinal Injuries Center
* Prolonged sitting and standing not accompanied by adequate exercise and stretching exerts extra pressure on the spine, back, neck and legs that increases the incidence of back problems
* Doctors say the incidence of backache and neckache have risen dramatically in Delhi over the past decade
New Delhi, Feb 2016: Backaches and spinal problems have never been uncommon, but when every fifth patient visiting a specialist to consult remedies for spinal issues is a young office goer in 30s, you know there is a dangerous trend.
Doctors at Indian Spinal Injuries Centre say they are alarmed by the rise in numbers of young office professionals in Delhi NCR who are reporting spine problems that were earlier more prevalent in relatively older people.
Spinal problems, especially back pain, stiffness in neck and shoulders, immobilization or locking of joints,sore feet, swelling feet and legs often accompanied with pain are some of the common complaints from people who have long hours of sedentary jobs coupled with long commutes to work spending up to 3 hours standing or sitting daily in private vehicles or public transportation like metro, bus or trains. Apart from the physical stress that hurts the spine, the mental stress and anxiety as a part of today’s lifestyle further leads to increased incidence of backaches, neckaches and shoulder pains.
Sitting in the same position for extended periods of time and repetitive movements like using a keyboard and a mouse can cause repetitive stress injuries on the joints, muscles and nerves. Sitting in the same position for more than 4 hours a day is harmful to the spine.
“Prolonged sitting in same posture can add a tremendous amount of pressure to the back muscles and spinal discs, a slouched position can overstretch the spinal ligaments and strain the spinal discs and cause major pain in back and neck.The health hazards of long-term sitting are recognized worldwide. So much so, that many organizations in the west have introduced the culture of standing or flexible workstations to enable employees take a break from sitting. Similar to sitting, prolonged standing also has health implications. Standing keeps the body in an upright position, which requires considerable muscular effort. Prolonged standing results in pooling of blood in the legs with reduction in blood in active circulation. Insufficient blood flow further accelerates the onset of fatigue and causes pain in the muscles of the legs, back and neck, the muscles that maintain the upright position of the body, thereby affecting the spine.Both long-term sitting and long-term standing are equally bad.” says Dr. Vedant Vaksha, Assistant Consultant ISIC.
“Back aches and spinal issues have always been common, but what is alarming in recent times is the number of younger men and women they are afflicting. Prolonged work hours which do not allow time for appropriate walking or stretching breaks, lack of physical exercise in daily routine, sedentary jobs, long hours of commute to work are factors that are responsible for this surge.
Another factor is rise in the incidence of obesity due to poor dietary habits and lack of physical activity again putting further burden on the spine and lower extremities causing and aggravating the problem. Also, due to lack of exercise the muscles and ligaments in our back and joints become weak and can suffer injuries even with small actions like lifting weight,” says Dr. Vedant Vaksha, Assistant Consultant ISIC.
Besides prolonged sitting and standing andlack of physical activity, regular urban office goers also face spinal issues due to not so people friendly mode of commutation. With people either commuting with self-driven vehicle or public transport, damage is caused to the neck and the back during the travel. “Unscientific speed breakers also cause injuries. A slight miss in acknowledging the bulge and a person may end up with a whiplash injury causing painful and numb neck or limbs.” says Dr. Vedant Vaksha, Assistant Consultant ISIC.
Besides these, osteoporosis, malignancy, inflammatory diseases (arthritis), other metabolic bone diseases, and hematological diseases are some other issues that lead to spinal problems.
