Prolonged sitting is no good for your health. When you form the habit of spending large swaths of time parked on your derriere, you increase your chances of becoming obese, having cancer, diabetes and cardio vascular disease. Prolonged sitting also predisposes you to low back pain and neck pain due to the increased stress on the spine while sitting.
Another cause of low back pain in people that sit a great deal is tight hamstring muscles. The hamstrings muscles are a group of 3 muscles located at the back of the femur or thigh. This group of muscles connects from the buttocks area of the pelvis to the backside of the knees and they help us to bend our knees as well as take our legs backwards. Together with the hip flexors and the low back muscles this muscle group provides stability to the pelvis and helps to maintain the health and function of the lower back vertebrae.
Sitting in a typical office chair forces the hamstring muscles to become inactive and places them in a shortened position. Repetitive, prolonged sitting eventually leads to hamstring muscles that are weak and adapt to a new shortened length. The result is pain and tightness at the back of the leg with potential low back pain due to the imbalance between the low back muscles the hip flexors and the hamstrings.
How do you know if you have tight hamstrings?
You can assess the flexibility of your hamstrings muscles by sitting on the floor with one knee bent and the foot of that knee placed flat on the ground. Now stretch the other leg flat out on the floor and then try touching the toes of the straight leg. If you can’t touch your toes, chances are you have tight hamstrings. Another easy way to assess for tight hamstring is to lie on your your back and relax. Gently lift one straight leg up until you start to feel discomfort at the back of your leg and unable to go any further. Ideally your leg should go vertically upwards without any pain to 90degrees. Any range below 80 degrees indicates hamstring tightness.
How to treat Tight Hamstrings
If you are having lower back pain, it is best to seek a consultation with a physiotherapist to help to diagnose and treat the issue. As part of your assessment, the Physiotherapist will examine your hamstrings. You must be committed to daily programme of muscle stretching especially if you have a desk job to slowly coax the tight muscles into a longer resting length. In addition to using various modalities to reduce your pain, your therapist will prescribe exercises to help improve muscle strength and endurance and a stretching program that will help reduce pain and muscle tightness. You will also be educated on proper body mechanics and posture.
One effective way of stretching the hamstring muscle is by sitting at the edge of the chair. Bend one knee to 90 degrees and stretch the other leg out with the toes pointing to the ceiling. Sitting up straight and placing your hands at your waist, lean forward until you feel the stretch behind the thigh. Maintain this position for between 10 to 30 seconds to get an effective stretch.
Nkiru Jibuaku
Nkiru Jibuaku is a British trained Physiotherapist. She currently works as a Senior Physiotherapist in Lagos and can be reached on coporatephysio5@gmail.com
