Dr Adriaan Liebenberg My Spine Explained | Page 100

CHAPTER 13
EVERYDAY LIFE
Spinal pain can limit your activities of everyday life and decrease your qual-
ity of life dramatically if not properly managed. Pain is a warning system and
is the body’s way of informing you that something is wrong.
Maintaining the correct body posture during everyday life activities can sig-
nificantly assist in reducing back pain and progressive spinal damage.
The following advice could be helpful in managing your back pain during
everyday activities.
Sitting
A well designed chair should provide comfortable seating and accommodate
a wide range of body shapes and sizes. To maximise sitting comfort, it is
essential that the chair is adjustable.
Make sure that you maintain a correct posture and are supported comfortably
in the chair:
Your feet should be flat on the floor; do not cross your legs.
The height of the chair is important, because your hips should be at a right
angle or ideally between 90˚and 120˚.
If your feet do not comfortably touch the floor, use a low footrest.
A low footrest may also be necessary to reduce pressure behind the knees and
strain in the lower back.
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