How a lifetime of sitting down has become a pain in the back

A GENERATION of Scots have become ‘professional sitters’, storing up neck and back problems from their desk-bound jobs, a leading physiotherapist has warned.

Bethany Aitken, physiotherapy manager at Nuffield Health Glasgow Hospital, is helping 400 people a week who are suffering pain from sedentary lifestyles.

From accountants and lawyers to callcentre workers, they have one thing in common. Four out of five of her patients spend hours every day sitting at a desk, hunched over a laptop or computer and damaging their joints and muscles.

The numbers are rising by 10 per cent every year according to Dr Aitken, whose warning yesterday was backed by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy.

Experts agree that the nature of modern life, in which most of us do not even go for a walk at lunchtime but eat sitting at our desks, is bad for our health.

The British Heart Foundation has previously warned that people who sit too much are at greater risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes, while it has also been linked to depression.

Dr Aitken said: ‘Probably 80 per cent of our patients are just sitting for way too long, going from meeting to meeting and never actually properly getting up and moving about.’

She said people under stress and focusing sit for longer, ignoring signals from their body to move.

She added: ‘They get stiff joints and tight muscles because when they are sitting their chins are down, their shoulders start to arch and t heir l ower back slumps.’

Research carried out last year found one in five Scots is seated for at least nine hours a day, when time at the office, at the dinner table and on the sofa are taken into account.

Spending so long in one position in sedentary jobs causes neck or back stiffness at first but it can lead to sciatic nerve pain.

Poor posture causes tension in the upper back, neck and shoulders, which can lead to painful headaches. The NHS warns that this kind of tension headache – throbbing in the base of the skull – can be made worse by spending lots of time at a desk on the telephone, as holding the handset between your head and shoulder strains muscles further.

Many office workers who do not make the connection with their job see their pain as part of getting older and simply deal with it or take painkillers to cope.

Dr Aitken advises people to do core exercises, yoga and pilates to help. She said: ‘When the stiffness starts to kick in, into the spine, it starts with a catching sensation when you go to stand up. Severe pain can build and build – during the day it can be managed but it can stop people being able to get comfortable when they rest at home.’

She added: ‘Quite a lot of people are surprised how inactive they are.’

Sitting for more than eight hours a day was found by US researchers this year to raise the risk of getting type 2 diabetes by 90 per cent. NHS guidance is that office workers should stand up three times every hour.

Last night, the message to move more was underlined by Sara Conroy, professional adviser for Scotland at the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, who said: ‘Our bodies aren’t designed to sit in the same position for long periods. It’s also key for employers to create a culture that encourages staff to be active.

‘Back pain is one of the leading causes of sickness absence.’

‘Severe pain can build and build’