Back Care on the Fly: Part 1

8 Spinal Pain Management Tips for Busy Professionals

The burden of low back pain across Australian society is significant. Contemporary figures published by the Australian Institute of Health & Welfare in 2016 show that ‘back pain and problems’ were the third leading cause of disease burden in Australia in 2011. In 2014-2015 it was estimated that one in six Australians were living with chronic back pain, of which 77% were of working age. Within the workplace, injuries to the lumbar spine and chronic back pain place financial pressure on businesses through direct and indirect costs. Direct costs include compensable workplace injury, whereas indirect costs include loss of earnings and productivity. An Australian study in 2001 estimated that indirect costs of low back pain to the Australian economy are over $8 billion annually.

In a bid to address issues such as low back pain in the workplace, companies like Employ Health work with our partners to provide a range of proactive and preventative services such as onsite physiotherapy, workplace exercise-based solutions, manual handling training, ergonomic interventions and manual risk assessment. A group of workers that frequently miss out on input are highly mobile professionals. This group of workers:

• Don’t have a permanent office
• Fly or drive extensively
• Spend a few nights each week in hotel rooms

Traveling for work can have its perks with flight and hotel rewards, however this shouldn’t come at the expense of your physical health and wellbeing. If you’re highly mobile you shouldn’t have to miss out on your company’s health, wellbeing and injury prevention program.

If you’re a highly mobile professional, here are 8 tips on how to proactively prevent and manage spinal pain whilst you’re at work and on the move:

1. Move: Break up long periods of sitting, driving or flying with a walk every 30 – 60min. Your spine loves movement, so don’t deny it that!
   If you’re driving enforce breaks, if you’re flying sit on the aisle so you can walk to and from the bathroom. If you have had a long drive or flight try and encourage a standing, walking or otherwise active meeting or business engagement. Contemporary research shows that breaking up long periods of sitting also helps avoid fatigue.
2. Eat well: We often eat healthy and nutritious food whilst at our homes and regular workplaces. This gives us the energy we need to stay active, motivated and focussed throughout the day. When you travel, drive or fly for work this shouldn’t change. Obesity is also strongly linked to persistent low back pain. You can address this with proper nutrition and exercise. If you require help losing weight, don’t hesitate to speak to your GP and a nutritionist.
3. Get enough sleep: Changing time zones with fluctuating working hours can make it difficult to get the right amount of sleep. Aiming for 6 – 8 hours per night is ideal. Try and stick to the same routine, limit your caffeine intake in the afternoon and put down the smart phone for 30 minutes before bed. Use this time to read and wind down. If you’re struggling with with this, acknowledge it and speak to your GP.
4. Don’t smoke: Research strongly links smoking with chronic back pain and poor health outcomes.
5. Be careful with medication: There is a large body of evidence that states that opioids for back pain management are ineffective in the long term. If you are taking regular medication, in particular opioids, for low back pain it is best to discuss this with your GP. Research demonstrates that 30 minutes of exercise each day will have the same affect on persistent back pain as medication.
6. Passive treatments are OK if followed by activity: What’s a passive treatment? This includes any type of manual therapy, trigger ball use, massage, etc. Research supports that pain levels can decrease with manual therapy, so it’s important to utilise this period of decreased pain to exercise efficiently and address the cause of your symptoms.
7. Perform your physio exercise program for spinal pain: Do this in your hotel room, and don’t skip just because you’re away from home! If you currently don’t have one keep an eye out for our next blog, as we will be providing a complimentary program.
8. Understand your pain: It’s really important that you have some understanding of what is it that you’re really feeling. Your back pain could be acute and joint related, or if it’s long-standing there may be a number of elements that require addressing. Lorimer Moseley, an Australian Pain Scientist, delves deeper into what’s actually going on when you feel pain in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikUzvSph7Z4

If you have any further queries about work-related spinal pain, feel free to email me at zac.lowth@employhealth.com.au. I’ve spoken a lot about research in this article so if you’re interested in any of it let me know and I’d be happy to email it to you. Next week we will be publishing Back Care on the Fly: Part 2, that will provide a complimentary hotel-room physio program and look further into how Employ Health has stepped up to deliver services for our partner’s mobile workers.