Surgeon’s warning for people who sit over 6 hours a day

By Lauren Wilkin

A spine surgeon is warning people who sit for six hours or more a day that they risk developing chronic pain — as well as serious injuries.

Dr. Edward Scheid, a lead spine surgeon, says: "There's no specific cut-off, but the research consistently shows that the risk of developing chronic low back pain rises significantly when someone sits for about six hours or more."

A huge number of job around the world are sedentary — including 80% in the U.S. and 39% of individuals employed in the EU.

"Sitting puts more pressure on your lumbar discs and unevenly shifts the load toward the front of the disc, even more so with poor posture," says Dr. Scheid, founder of NeuroSpine Plus, a New Jersey practice dedicated to spine surgery.

"Looking at this over months and years, disc dehydration, height loss, and degeneration occur, raising the odds of developing low back pain compared to those who are less sedentary.

"That's concerning since in the more advanced cases I see, it can lead to nerve compression, herniation, or sciatica symptoms."

Sitting for over six hours a day can also lead to more serious injuries later in life, alongside chronic pain.

"Sometimes people with this issue show up in my office because of a sudden injury, but the majority of them are the ones who spent a decade just sitting at a desk, and they're very surprised it can lead them to this condition," Dr. Scheid says.

"The discs in your spine have no direct blood supply and need movement to get nutrients in and waste out.

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"So sitting all that time without moving adds pressure and cuts that nutrient and waste exchange, making the damage compound before you ever notice a symptom."

And there are things you can do to prevent this, even if your job does require you to sit for long periods of time.

"General exercise that you engage in outside of work hours doesn't fully cancel out the hours of uninterrupted sitting," he explains.

"And while it does matter, what matters even more is getting up now and then to move from your desk.

"People come to me and tell me they work out, and there's this assumption that they think they're fine, but that's a huge mistake, as cardiovascular fitness is very different from your disc health, and an hour at the gym still won't undo six to eight hours of sitting still behind a desk."

Instead, he says the focus needs to be on reducing the total amount of time you're sedentary for and then building movement into your everyday routine.

"If you sit for six hours but get up or change position every 30 to 40 minutes, that's quite different from being in a chair for six hours straight," he says.

"Break up your sitting time by standing or getting up and moving briefly every 30 minutes or so as even a short stretch or walk will help.

"Short but frequent activity breaks are a proven way to offset the time that you're sedentary. Try taking your calls while standing or switch to a sit-stand desk if that's an option.

"Taking a walk during your lunch rather than eating at your desk is another great way to put movement in between those sitting moments."