During October’s National Safe Work Month, Croydon Osteopathy along with Osteopathy Australia is encouraging Australians to think about our working environment.
Back problems are the third leading cause of disease burden in Australia and a major contributing factor is that Australian workers have sedentary jobs (with one in two spending 55 per cent of their day inactive) and are sitting for most of their working day (with an average 22 hours behind a desk each week).
Prolonged sitting, with a poor or awkward posture and a lack of physical activity takes an immense toll on our bodies and can be associated with a wide range of health problems, including premature degeneration of spinal discs and inflammation of joints, connective tissues and nerves, which if left unresolved, can become chronic conditions.
Physical activity is key to a healthy and enjoyable life, however, with just one in three (30%) Australians achieving the recommended amount of physical activity per week, it’s little wonder that 70-90 per cent will suffer from lower back pain at some point in their lives.
Although physical activity amongst Australian workers is slowly improving, too many of us are still spending most of our working day sitting at a desk without any active movement.
In the near future, the way we work is unlikely to change. So as Osteopaths, we are promoting health and making recommendations to all Australians, particularly sedentary working Australians. Some of the recommendations are to incorporate simple movements such as stretching, standing up, walking meetings, changing postures regularly and micro-breaks into our day to reduce the risk of developing a chronic pain problem, or a work-related musculoskeletal complaint.
Other recommendations involve your work place, such as sit-stand desks. Whilst the sit-stand desks may not suit everyone, they do offer a means to negate some of the effects of sitting all day. Some offices also offer activity programs like in-house yoga, or group fitness programs which not only help to lessen the effects of sedentariness but may also boost productivity in the workforce.
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/the-dangers-of-sitting?viewAsPdf=true
http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/health-pubhlth-strateg-active-evidence.html