Articles & Podcasts

Authors:
Jessa M Buchman-Pearle, Kayla M Fewster, Brendan L Pinto, Jack P Callaghan

"There is an established association between low back pain development and time spent driving (Alperovitch-Najenson et al., 2010; Anderson, 1992; Bovenzi, 2010; Chen et al., 2005; Gyi & Porter, 1998; Mendelek et al., 2011; Okunribido et al., 2007; Plouvier et al., 2008; Porter & Gyi, 2002; Robb & Mansfield, 2007), likely in part due to prolonged exposure to sitting. Compared to standing, sitting leads to flexion of the lumbar spine, resulting in posterior pelvic rotation and loss of the lumbar lordosis (De Carvalho et al., 2010; Endo et al., 2012; Keegan, 1953). This increase in lumbar flexion is linked to increased intradiscal pressure (Adams & Hutton, 1985; Andersson et al., 1974; Wilke et al., 1999), posterior migration of the nucleus pulposus (Alexander et al., 2007), increased strain on passive tissues (Dunk & Callaghan, 2002; McGill & Brown, 1992), and altered erector muscle fiber orientation (Pinto et al., 2021). These biomechanical and physiological adaptations may be further exacerbated during prolonged sitting as progressive deformation of the seat and viscoelastic creep of soft tissues occur. Moreover, in driving, the inability to vary posture due to task constraints (i.e., maintain gaze on road, feet on pedals, hands on steering wheel, and wearing a seatbelt) coupled with vibration exposure may further increase the risk of developing low back pain (Bovenzi, 2010; Porter & Gyi, 2002; Wilder et al., 1982). As such, there is a need to modify automotive design to reduce potentially maladaptive changes to spinal health and discomfort associated with prolonged driving."

author: Michaeleen Doucleff

...After returning home, I started seeing this "table" bending in photos all around the world — an older woman planting rice in Madagascar, a Mayan woman bending over at a market in Guatemala and women farming grass in northern India. This bending seemed to be common in many places, except in Western societies.

"The anthropologists have noted exactly what you're saying for years," says Stuart McGill, at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, who has been studying the biomechanics of the spine for more than three decades.

"It's called hip hinging," McGill says. "And I've spent my career trying to prove it's a better way of bending than what we do."...

by Mayfield Clinic

This is a good reference guide for improving your body mechanics in order to prevent and/or minimize lower back pain and neck pain. Proper body mechanics are critical to minimizing risk of injury and maintaining a healthy spine.

Esther Gokhale at TEDx Stanford

Watch this quick video of Esther Gokhale teaching how to sit with proper posture.  Sitting with proper posture will align your spine in its healthy natural form, relieve neck and back pain, and begin the healing of past damage inflicted upon your spine...

author: Michaeleen Doucleff

This is a very informative article on how incorrect posture when sitting can lead to back pain, neck pain, and significant damage of the spine...

by Anchors of Health

Listen to this podcast to hear Dr. Stuart McGill discuss back pain and his book, Back Mechanic.  Dr. McGill is the foremost expert on back pain and spinal mechanics.

by Mayfield Clinic

"Each vertebra in your spine is separated and cushioned by an intervertebral disc, keeping the bones from rubbing together. Discs are designed like a radial car tire. The outer ring, called the annulus, has criss-crossing fibrous bands, much like a tire tread. These bands attach between the bodies of each vertebra. Inside the disc is a gel-filled center called the nucleus, much like a tire tube..."