Long desk hours root of muscle pulls

PUNE: The next time the occasional pain in the shoulder, joints, spine or even hands flares up, ensure that you stand up and move around.
Medical professionals point out that this is the most crucial advice This is the doctor's advice for every individual who holds a desk job, paticularly for women. Bone, spine and nerve experts are noticing that professionals - especially women, are becoming regulars at their clinics with complaints of the occasional back and shoulder pain turning into severe joint and muscle injuries if not treated in time.
"Nowadays, there are more working women are travelling across the city as well as working long hours in their office. The number of women with orthopaedic problems is rapidly increasing," observed Narendra Vaidya, joint replacement specialist at Lokmanya Hospital Pune.
Vaidya said nearly 70% of his patients are women and the root cause usually turns out to be desk jobs that involve manning the desk constantlyrequiring continuous hours of sitting. "Women are more likely than men to have conditions that cause joint pain and they may also experience hormonal fluctuations that affect their vulnerability to such conditions. Moreover, all that stationary time at work can lead to cardiovascular diseases due to less blood flow, tightened hip flexors, shortened hamstrings, pinched nerves and many physical injuries in the long run," he said.
30-35% of Vaidya's patients are those with postural issues and visit with complains of spinal and disc problems apart from nerve compression due to lack of exercise.
"Prolonged sitting causes discomfort, numbness and joints misalignment. If any pain persists more than six weeks, it should be considered as chronic pain," he said.
Vaidya reiterates that even though coping up with healthy options may get difficult due to work pressures, neglecting the pain will only result in futher, even major damage.
The now-common complaint of muscle pull may also be related to desk jobs and what may be even more worrying is that the number of women going for joint replacements is increasing with almost 60% share of the total procedures. "This is essentially because when a woman reaches menopause her estrogen levels drop and can lead to bone loss," Vaidya stated.
"Scientifically, there is no data supporting whether women are more prone to issues related to long hours of sitting. However, with factors common to the female gender like poor abdominal muscle tone, excessive weight gain during pregnancy, activities involved in infant care, osteoporosis and Vitamin D3 deficiency, it can be logically stated that women are more prone to spinal issues related to long hours of sitting," stated Sangan Patil, consultant spine surgeon at Columbia Asia Hospital in Kharadi-Pune.
"In my experience, almost 50% of people who come to us with desk-related complaints of 'injuries' are women," he added.
Even as technology firms and startups hail the inclusion of more women, experts reiterate the importance of stepping awat from the desk every now and then just to stretch. "Such symptom injuries are now classified and are known as work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD). We suggest just getting up to change the position as sitting for a long time causes lack of blood flow, flow of oxygen and nutrients which cause micro damage and can harm over a longer time as muscles become weak," said orthopaedic surgeon and founder of Spinalogy clinic Kiran Shete.
"I see at least 15% more women patients who come with complain of work-related problems. It is a practice to apply ointment or take painkillers during initial signs of discomfort but this is not the solution. These signs should not be ignored. Most women delay treatment as they are caught up in household work and their job activities, untill the pain becomes unbearable and restricts daily movement," he added.
While arthritis and severe arthritis is not uncommon among women in their late 20s and 30s, doctors say there is no reason to despair as newer implants can aid long-term relief. "In just the last few years, a technologically advanced material called Oxidised Zirconium was introduced which can last for 30 years, as tested under lab conditions. Such material can help create better performing, longer lasting implants which can be used for women who do not wish to compromise on their active life," Vaidya pointed out.
Don't smile through the pain
- Simply stand up every 20 minutes or so to avoid pulling muscles or causing pain. It is the most important thing desk workers can do to give the body a break from a long held position
- Use apps or desktop reminders to get up from the chair and stretch
- When seated, make sure you maintain good posture with your feet flat on the floor, head straight and with lower back naturally arched inward
- Simple stretches at your desk such as twisting, turning the head from side-to-side and chin tucks upward towards the ceiling will also help
- Get moving. Make conference calls on your feet or suggest a moving meeting, which involves walking up and down the hall
- Building the core of the spine and endurance building activities like cycling, swim, a brisk walk for at least half an hour per day is important
- Even after following the right exercises, if the joint pain still troubles then visit an orthopaedician immediately
Consult doctors in case back pain is accompanied by
- Leg pain
- Rest pain or pain in the night
- Numbness or weakness in the legs
- Urinary and/or stool problems
- Back pain not getting better over 4-5 days
- Fever
Voices:
While women experiencing menopause are more prone to bone problems, a large percentage of young women suffer from Vitamin D3 defeciency due to lack of sunlight and proper diet. Hence, they show osteopororsis like signs
- Narendra Vaidya, joint replacement specialist
Muscle fatigue, wrong sitting posture, cause de-conditioning of the spinal muscles. This directly or indirectly increases the amount of load on the inter-vertebral discs, which act as shock absorbers, causing early wear and tear. This may lead to muscle pulls and pains
- Sangan Patil, consultant spine surgeon
For people who already have Vitamin D and/or B12 deficiency, persistence of pain or discomfort over six months is very significant
Kiran Shete, orthopaedic surgeon