{"id":454,"date":"2020-08-07T22:26:02","date_gmt":"2020-08-08T02:26:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/myuprightlife.com\/?p=454"},"modified":"2020-10-10T09:44:50","modified_gmt":"2020-10-10T13:44:50","slug":"sitting-and-back-pain-whats-the-connection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myuprightlife.com\/index.php\/2020\/08\/07\/sitting-and-back-pain-whats-the-connection\/","title":{"rendered":"Sitting and Back Pain: What\u2019s the Connection?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the two years after my sitting problems started, I visited 13 doctors and specialists. I was looking for an explanation of why I was the way I was, but my hopes were dashed at every turn. All of these highly-trained professionals seemed surprised by my symptoms, and couldn\u2019t find any reason for my inability to sit. At the time, I assumed that I had some rare disease that was outside the bounds of common medical knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine my surprise, then, when I discovered that back problems are linked to sitting pain, in the same way that rain is linked to mud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I recently finished wading through Low Back Disorders: Evidence-Based Prevention and Rehabilitation<\/a><\/em> by Dr. Stuart McGill. While it wasn\u2019t exactly light reading (Back Mechanic<\/a><\/em> is a better choice there), it did clear up some long-standing (ha!) questions about when and why sitting is bad for backs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disc Anatomy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When my doctor was trying to explain my MRI results, he compared my disk to a jelly doughnut. It had a tough outer layer, and a squishy, gelatinous inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A better dessert analogy would a lava cake. McGill notes that there is a gradation between nucleus and annulus, but no clear boundary between the two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will quote McGill on the character of the nucleus, not because it is particularly relevant, but because it\u2019s one of my all-time favorite pieces of academic prose: \u201cAt the risk of sounding crude, the best way to describe a healthy nucleus is that it looks and feels like heavy phlegm. During in vitro testing, we have had it squirt out under pressure and literally stick to the wall.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
This would be the perfect image if it had another “n.” Photo courtesy of CFCF via Wikimedia<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What Causes a Disc to Herniate?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Discs permit the spine to bend. In order to do that, they deform, and absorb certain stresses. I couldn\u2019t find a good picture to illustrate this, so instead I used a marshmallow and two Oreos. (I like to keep the dessert theme going.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n