Beat Back Aches with Tips from Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Jike Lu

In his 30 years as an orthopedic surgeon and spinal specialist – both here in China and in the United States and Australia – Dr. Jike Lu has come across many patients who suffer from nasty and chronic back pain. If you want to keep your spinal health in check, follow his advice on preventing and protecting yourself from recurring aches.

Lower back pain is something that affects more and more people these days. For workers young and old – whether they sit in an office chair from sunrise to sunset or spend their days lifting heavy items – the risk of developing chronic aches and daily discomfort is at an all-time high.

After the age of 25, the discs that sit between our vertebrae begin to dry out and stop moving as freely. However, the majority of back pain is not likely to be skeletal or disc-related, but rather the result of muscular sprains or fatigue. Whatever the cause, there are many simple changes you can make to reduce the pain. In short, my advice is this: If you want to avoid lower back pain, you have to modify your activities and habits.

Correct your posture at your desk

Think about the time you spend sitting in front of your computer at your office desk. Is it two hours at a time? Maybe four hours straight? You might even spend your whole eight-hour working day hunched over your computer. It’s therefore vital that you get the basics right, making sure you are not slouching or stretching, putting any strain on your spine, muscles, and ligaments.

1. Firstly, let’s look at your chair. Your seat should have a fixed back that does not allow you to slouch or recline. You should sit up straight with your back almost making a right angle with your thighs. Many office chairs are now designed with an ergonomic bulge that fits the natural curve of your lower back, which is very helpful. If yours does not, many people find it beneficial to put a small pillow behind them to cushion this area.

2. Don’t cross your legs and keep your feet flat on the ground. 

3. Adjust your chair to the right height, ensuring your head is straight and your eyes are looking directly ahead at your screen. If you are looking down or constantly craning upwards, you will put a strain on your neck. 

4. Do not lean forward to look at your screen; position your monitor so that it is 50cm away from your eyes when you sit up straight.

5. Don’t stay seated for more than two hours straight. Move around, do some stretches, work your back muscles. However good your setup and posture, if you’re seated for two hours, sometimes even eight hours straight, you’ll get muscle fatigue, causing inflammation and pain.

Make sure your lifting motion is correct

Our natural impulse when it comes to picking an item up from the ground is to bend forward from the hips, but this motion strains the muscles, squeezes disc material out, and compresses the nerves in our back.

The correct motion is to squat to the level of the object you wish to pick up and ensure that you keep your back straight as you rise.

As an example of this method’s benefits, let’s pretend you’re lifting a 10 kg box. If you arch over, reaching and bending to pick it up, the box’s weight becomes around 25 kg’s work for your back. If you squat, 10 kg is 10 kg.

Invest in a high-quality mattress, invest in your health

Whenever patients come to me with chronic back problems – and there’s a lot of them – some of the first questions I ask are about their bed at home. You spend at least one-third of your life in bed, so why are you sleeping on such a cheap mattress? How can you justify spending so little on something so important?

Some people spend even more time in bed, yet still don’t want to invest. They prefer to spend loads on a meal, a new car, or clothing – luxuries, really – than essentials such as nice pillows and mattresses, which will benefit their long-term health and well-being. After informing people of the benefits though, I’ve definitely managed to change many of their minds. They now all say, “Ah! I feel so much better!” 

When choosing a mattress, you must consider the support it gives your spine – your spine should not be left with such a dramatic curve in it when you are lying down. It must be relaxed, but in a straight line, with no pressure being put on any part of it.

While soft mattresses may initially seem more comfortable, they can be as harmful as one that is too hard, causing your spine, back muscles, and ligaments to stretch. The pain you feel when sitting in the office will most likely be a result of this.

As the image above shows, you need to use a firm and supportive mattress, but not too hard.

Buy a good pillow

Most people assume that your pillow is for your head. They’re not wrong, of course, but, more importantly, a pillow is for your neck. The wrong pillow can not only lead to tight muscles and aches, but it may also cause snoring and difficulty falling asleep.

Just as with the rest of your spine, you need to make sure your neck is sufficiently supported. When sleeping on your side, your neck needs to be straight, aligned with the rest of your spine.

When lying on your back, pillows must support the natural curve of your neck. Pillows that bulge upwards at the base to ergonomically fit your neck are good choices. 

If you want to see a bad example of sleeping arrangements, go and look at the beds at the Forbidden City – the emperors had it all wrong with their hard beds and high pillows so everyone could see their face. They must have been so stiff!

Dr. Lu is the Chair of the Department of Orthopedics, Sports Medicine, and Spine Surgery at Beijing United Family Hospital. If you have back pain concerns you wish to discuss with him, or another of BJU’s experienced doctors, please do not hesitate to arrange a consultation. Call our 24-hour hotline on 4008-919191 to make an appointment.

• Want to know more about Dr. Lu? Read his breakdown of an average week for him.

• Want to learn more about good sleeping habits? Check out our top picks for apps that can help you fall asleep.