A lumber support cushion may help you manage back pain and ease some of your symptoms. Do you have a job that involves lots of sitting? If so you probably have experienced some lower back pain as the day has gone on. There are many different lumber pillows on the market - Plenty of chose for you. First though, I will explain a little about why a lumber support can help and highlight some things to think about before you buy one.
May of us have lifestyles and jobs that require us to spend long, concentrated periods of time sitting. Office chair are very rarely supportive of the lower back and may of us fail to take regular frequent breaks. As a result the lower back is subjected to stresses and strains that eventually cause discomfort.
The story is hear most often is this:
➙ At the beginning of the day the problem is not so bad.
➙ As the day goes on you start to fidget.
➙ You become aware of soreness.
➙ This soreness worsens to a significant back ache.
➙ The day ends and you go home and relax and it feels better.
➙ The same pattern is repeated the next day.
The symptoms may have first started years ago as just a mild irritation but longer the problem goes on the more uncomfortable it gets.Sometimes you can't event get comfortable in the evenings either.
The reason this happens is to with the stress and strains we are putting though our lumber spines in these prolonged positions. If you do not use a lumber support cushion or if the chair you use has no decent low back support then you will sit in a more flexed position.
The effect of prolonged sitting - creep - Pain
Lumber support cushions can prevent back pain when sitting your spine is a nice strong solid structure made up of vertebrae separated from one another by large muscles and ligaments. When we are on the move this system is wonderfully strong and supportive. The trouble begins when we start applying prolonged low loads to the system.
By sitting in a flexed position you cause the ligaments at the back of the spine to be put on a gentle stretch. They resist this movement for a while but after time they begin to lengthen, the technical term for this is creep, which is a great way to describe it as the pain does creep up on you. This creep continues causing stresses to the lower back tissues, the muscles fatigue and you start to get pain. If you move and relieve the tension the ligaments recover a little and that makes it easier to continue. However in the laboratory studies have found that it takes about 7 hour for the creep to disappear and the tissues to regain their normal properties.
A lumbar support cushion can reduce flexion stresses
The answer is to used a lumbar support cushion which sits in the small of you back. This physically prevents you from sitting in a slumped position and stop the prolonged flexion stresses. This helps reduce ligament creep and can significantly relieve low back pain from sitting.
There are variety of different lumbar support products on the market. The most common are mounded pillows or cushions which sit in the small of you back. In the curve called the lordosis.
The other type are rolls or D shaped supports that do the same thing.
➙ This is type of lumber support cushion that sits in the chair and creates a good low back support to prevent sagging. Advantages are they are robust, disadvantages are they are they are less spongy that rolls and they may not fit all seats, especially seats that that have mounded sides such as sports car seats. Good for office chairs and nice and sturdy.
➙ Do you need an inflatable lumber support? If you travel a lot or find it uncomfortable sitting when you are out this may be the answer. See the choice of nice light inflatable lumber support and rolls on offer.
The choice of which type of lumber support cushion depends on several factors:
➙ Your posture - If you have a deep lumber curve then you may need a deeper or fatter lumber support cushion. If you have a more flat back posture then you will need a shallower posture support.
➙ Your chair - If you chair is very ' bucket shaped' or curved you may be better off trying a more substantial rigid lumbar backrest (if you can't replace the chair that is). This will prevent you sagging backwards into the seat. A regular lumbar roll or pillow may not offer enough support of the chair is very relaxed and has very poor lower back support.
➙ Which chair - you may need a different lumbar support cushion for different chair. Don't just assume it's the office chair that's problem. I regularly meet people who get up, sit for breakfast drive to work. Sit all day a desk drive, home sit for dinner sit on sofa watching TV, go to bed. Nearly their whole walking life is spent in a flexed position. Look after you sitting posture wherever you are.
➙ How much you get up - I have found from my own experience that if you get up and down a lot its annoying when the roll, falls off the chair. You may want one with a fastening that goes around the chair back.
➙ Do you share - If you share you need a portable lumber support cushion that you can carry around with you.
➙ Personal comfort - The theory is all very well and good but we all have different preferences. Out bodies are different shapes and size and its impossible to predict what will work for everyone. Experiment and don't be afraid to break the rules to get something comfortable.
Key point when choosing a lumbar support cushion
➙ Experiment try different shapes and size until you are happy.
➙ Have several supports in different places so that you can take care of you lower back at home and at work.
➙ Try a towel for size first - roll a towel up and use that. Try a fatter or a thinner towel ad adjust. Soon you will guide you to the right lumbar support cushion purchase.
Lower back pain relief when sitting is not just about lower back posture
When i discuss this problem with my patients i explain that this type of postural back pain is caused by us exposing our lower back to stresses and strains that after a while it cant cope with. I usually approach the problem by first looking to remove some of the stresses by using a lumbar support but i also want them to think about ways they can make their spine better able to cope with the stresses put upon it.
So here are some other thing to think about if you have back pain when sitting :
➙ Take regular breaks - Get up every hour and move about. Walk around make a coffee, take a short walk. Take the pressure off your back.
➙ Set timers - You will forget to get up, most people do.You get engrossed in job and before you know it 2 hour have gone.
➙ Stretch in the office - Get your spine moving in the opposite direction with an extension stretch - instructions for this lower back pain stretching exercise here.
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