|
Sitting with a Herniated Disc
Sitting with a Herniated Disc ConditionSitting is almost unavoidable. You must sit to drive and many people must sit for extended periods of time at work. You must sit at the movies, the theatre and to go out to dine. Sitting is an inherent part of the human condition…Patients who suffer seated back pain dread the very thought of sting down. It is true that sitting does increase pressure in the lumbar spine, but it is a misconception that sitting is bad for your back. In fact, humans, and their ancestors, have been sitting for millions of years and our spines have grown fully accustomed to the seated posture. Sitting with a Herniated Disc TreatmentIt is common for people with sitting back pain to look far and wide for a special herniated disc chair, which might provide some semblance of seated relief. While it is nice to have a comfy and ergonomic chair, it is rare that patients with actual structural back pain from a herniated disc will enjoy much relief from any particular chair. Most patients who experience considerable pain alleviation from a specific chair are actually enjoying a powerful placebo effect and nothing more. Sitting back pain is often a conditioned response to pain which coincidentally occurs while seated. Remember that many high pressure life events find us in a sitting posture, such as driving and work… Just as the nocebo of the position can enact symptoms in programmed individuals, a specialized back pain chair might relieve the symptoms through psycho-emotional suggestion alone…Sitting with a Herniated Disc AdviceI spent much time and money looking for the perfect chair, when my back pain was at its fiercest. I tried a variety of styles, but none truly provided the herniated disc relief that I sought. Driving was a particular misery and I found very little comfort when in a car seat. I travel often and my frequent trips to Asia were a nightmare, with 30 hours spent in the air not uncommon…I now realize that sitting is rarely an actual source of painful disc symptoms. In fact, sitting may relieve pain in just as many patients as those who experience agony while seated… For lumbar spinal stenosis sufferers, this relief is anatomically sensible, since sitting helps provide more space in the spinal canal. However, for most other patients, relief or pain due to sitting is usually just another expression of the many conditioned responses developed as part of a psychosomatic pain condition. My advice? Save your money on those special chairs and invest a bit of time in reading some knowledge therapy materials instead… You can even read standing up, if you prefer… 6/16/09 Revised 12/9/09
|
