Back to Work

Working at a desk can be a real pain … literally.

Aside from the commonly cited complaints about carpal tunnel symptoms, cramped workspaces, and tension headaches, there’s one thing that arguably surpasses them all in its ability to derail your workers: back pain.

Some 80% of Americans will experience back pain at some point in their lives, so odds are it has already affected someone on your staff.

It’s extremely common, chronic, and impossible to ignore, which is why back pain can be such a pain for employers as well as those suffering the physical effects.

Whether the problem stems from heavy lifting (the wrong way), bad posture, or simply an improperly adjusted chair, the results are the same: nagging pain that can hit your business with medical costs, absenteeism, and decreased productivity.

Not only that, but it undermines your hard-earned progress in getting your workers to engage in more physical activity. When simply getting up to walk to the bathroom is a painful ordeal, exercise of any kind is the last thing on their minds.

But maybe it should be. Exercise may be good medicine for back pain, strengthening your back, stomach, and leg muscles and helping support the spine, according to WebMD. Some exercises can be modified or substituted to account for back pain.

It depends, however, on the cause and severity of the pain and the exercise you’re doing. (That’s why consulting a doctor should be the first step.)

Help your employees avoid back pain and ease any pain they’re already experiencing by passing on some valuable tips for a healthy back.

Start with these pieces of advice from WebMD for preserving back health: