Why your desk job hurts

You woke up from a glorious 8-hour sleep and your body is ready to take on the day.

Your muscles are raring to go, your joints are feeling limber. You feel connected to ancestors of thousands of years ago, who walked for miles daily just to get a sip of water from a stream, then journeyed into the wilderness in search of berries and plants to eat. You’re ready to get your feet in the dirt.

Except it’s the 2020s, and you stare at a computer screen all day. Your morning coffee is your last free moment before heading out the door to your 9 t0 5, only to return after sundown. You white-knuckle it for 35 minutes through Northern New Jersey gridlock. Or you hop on an NJ Transit bus headed for the other side of town. Or, like so many, you board a train that takes you into Manhattan.

You’ve already betrayed your ancestral instincts by sitting motionless for close to an hour. Your reward? More sitting!

Our desk jobs are hurting us - that’s no secret.

Dr. Saurabh Dang sees this first hand every day. Dr. Dang is a double board-certified pain management specialist who frequently treats 9-to-5ers at Hudson Paine and Spine. Here are his insights into the pitfalls of a desk job - and what we can do about it.

Sit less

The more we sit, it seems the sorer, stiffer, and sadder we are. So find opportunities to stand, move, and stretch. Offer up your seat on the bus or build some walking into your daily commute. Adhere by the 20-minute rule at the office: set a timer and each time it goes off, stand up and walk around.

Sit well

Sitting isn’t inherently bad for us. Sitting badly definitely is! When you slouch, your natural S-shaped spine collapses into a C-curve, heavying the load on your discs and imbalancing joints and muscles. A slightly forward pelvic tilt is the natural move; when your pelvic floor falls back, you add more load to your lumbar.

Strengthen your core

If your muscles are already weak, chances are high that you’ll slip into the poor posture discussed in the previous section: the spinal C-curve and posterior pelvic tilt. Try some abdominal exercises so your core can easier support your spine in the sitting position.

Sweeten your setup

One area that often goes overlooked is our desk setup. How much is your surrounding environment encouraging your body to slip into poor posture? If you find yourself constantly leaning in and stretching your neck, perhaps your computer is too far. If you can’t plant your feet flat on the floor, maybe your chair is set too high.

See the signs

Feeling pain below the knee? Numbness or tingling in the feet? Weakness in your legs? All of these are red flags that should be taken seriously. These symptoms often signal nerve compression that should be evaluated by a pain management specialist. Long-lasting pain or pain severe enough to limit your daily activities is also worth a check. The sooner you catch a problem, the easier it typically is to treat.

When to see a specialist

Chronic pain is not normal. You shouldn’t have to live with it and you shouldn’t have to bend your life around it. Rather than silently tolerating your pain for months or years, visit Dr. Dang to identify and treat your condition once and for all.

The good news? Most chronic pain can be treated without surgery. Dr. Dang and his team use advanced, minimally invasive treatment strategies based on a deep understanding of commute-related pain and backed by scientific evidence.

Related resources

• Back pain treatment
• Chronic pain treatment
• Dr. Saurabh Dang
• Contact Hudson Pain and Spine