Have you changed your daily routine due to back pain? If so, you’re not alone. In many cases, sitting for long periods of time can bring on someone’s back pain. But for others, it is standing and walking that creates more pain but, what causes this? In this article, I will discuss:
- What causes more pain while standing and walking
- An exercise to help alleviate that pain
Both “aged” and young spines can suffer from low back pain when standing or walking, but the most common reason for back pain is degeneration in the spine. Our spine is made up of bones, discs, and nerves. The disc sits in-between the bone providing space for our nerves. As we age, this disc space starts to decrease which leads to the nerve being pinched. Degenerative disc disease, degenerative joint disease, and spinal stenosis are a few conditions that feel worse while standing and walking. These are normally lumped into the general term of arthritis. People over their lifetime that sit, lift, or repetitively bend for a living can accelerate this degenerative process.
Even if you are experiencing pain with standing and walking, you normally feel relief with sitting. When we stand and walk, we minimize the available space along our spine and crowd the nerve roots causing that pain. Sitting, on the other hand, maximizes the available space for our nerves and provides much-needed relief.
Check out the video below to learn more about degeneration at your spine and an exercise to relieve the pain.
