Job Satisfaction and Low Back Pain

Backaches and sciatica image.

Low back pain, more commonly associated with jobs involving physical labour, is now striking an increasing number of white-collar workers. Usually associated with heavy lifting, turning, bending and repetitive motions, back pain is becoming a plague amongst those who lift nothing heavier than a stapler.

While workplace design and employee fitness are factors in office workers developing neck and back injuries, an overlooked element is the psychosocial factor -- how positive a person's mental outlook is, and especially how much they like their career.

Instead of taking drugs to reduce the symptoms, more and more recommendations involve reducing the amount of stress and taking steps to increase job satisfaction.

Experts say that up to 80 percent of adults will seek treatment for work-related neck or back pain at some point in their career.

Ash Asks some important questions of interest to Glen Eden residents - Chiropractor Glen Eden Ash Asks...

Why is a "slipped disc" unlikely?
Separating each spinal vertebra is a disc. Its fibrous outer ring holds in a jelly-like material. Because of the way a disc attaches to the spinal bones above and below it, it can't actually "slip." However, a disc can bulge, tear, herniate, thin and collapse. But it can't slip.
Are aches and pains good or bad?
While aches or pains may be unpleasant, they're merely warning signs. As a Glen Eden chiropractor, I see this all the time. The pain is not the problem! It just means a limitation has been reached and something needs to change. That's when we get to work correcting the underlying cause.