Sitting is something we all do every day without much thought. We spend hours sitting at work, eating, watching television or reading and driving. But have you ever considered that your sitting posture might be contributing to your back pain?

When it comes to proper sitting posture, men and women face different issues. For men, most of the pain comes from their wallet – and not because it’s empty! Many men carry their wallets in a back pocket. While this doesn’t cause an issue when standing, it causes multiple issues when sitting. The condition is becoming so common, it has even been given its own name: hip-pocket syndrome or wallet neuropathy.

Sitting on a wallet causes an “unevenness” resulting from one side of the body being slightly elevated. This unevenness can slowly lead to low back pain that can travel further up the spine. Additionally, the wallet presses on nerves in the back, which, over time, can cause sciatica. Sciatica can lead to pain or numbness in the lower leg, ankle or foot. With sciatica, every day activities such as walking, sitting and lying down can become extremely painful.

A similar phenomenon of “unevenness” occurs when women cross their legs while sitting. Growing up, I recall my hairdresser telling me to “uncross your legs and sit straight, or your cut will be uneven on one side.” When we cross our legs, we twist the spine and tailbone, while compressing the nerves in the buttocks and legs. This unnatural posture leads to inflammation, tingling and lower-back pain.

These improper sitting postures not only affect the spine, but they also affect the muscles of the lower back called the QL, or Quadratus Lumborum muscles. These muscles run along both sides of the spine, attaching at the bottom of the ribs and the top of the hips. The function of the QL muscles is to be a “hip hiker” and bring the hip and the rib cage closer together. Any tilt of the bottom or pelvis can cause tightness on one side of these muscles and a stretching on the other, leading to unevenness and pain.

The good news is that there’s a simple solution: remove the wallet from the back pocket and put it in the front pocket, or take it out of the back pocket whenever you sit or drive. For women – try not to cross your legs when you sit. These can be difficult habits to break initially, requiring us to relearn certain behaviors, but when we stop or reduce the time spent in these positions, back pain usually improves.

Also keep in mind that any “one-sided” activity such as mopping, sweeping, vacuuming, and golf can cause unevenness in this area of the body and affect the associated muscles. Evening out workload from left to right side whenever possible is a good idea. Additionally, stretching and warming up the muscles before extensive “one-sided” activities can be helpful in combating unevenness.

I always joke with patients and tell them this little tidbit of information is bad for business but good for you. Try this small habit change for a week or two, and you will see the difference. Your chiropractor will probably notice too! If you have further questions about proper sitting posture or chronic low back pain please feel free to contact me at pathwaysth@gmail.com. I am happy to answer any questions you might have, and share additional resources on this subject.

Dr. Haley Lance can be reached at Pathways to Healing, (706) 454-2040.