Wanderlust: Expat Life & Style in Thailand June / July 2017: The Business Issue | Page 47

Health & Wellness
BACK TO WORK
TAKING CARE OF YOUR SPINE IN
AN OFFICE ENVIRONMENT
Dr. Verapan of Bumrungrad Hospital is a surgeon who specializes
in operating on the brain and the spine. In this interview,
Dr. Verapan addresses some questions about spine health and
how we can prevent back problems from “office syndrome,” which
is a very common problem amongst office workers today.
by SHANNON FRANDSEN
What are most common complaints
you receive in your practice?
In general, up to 60 percent of
patients who come to us have either
neck pain and / or back pain. Most
cases are caused by bad posture
habits or heavy physical activity that
strains muscles and causes pain. This
pain can be treated in two to three
weeks through posture correction,
over-the-counter pain medication
and physical therapy.
Another 40 percent come in for serious
spine problems, and they might be
considering spinal interventions or
surgery. These patients come to seek
further treatment.
Why are lower back pain and neck
pain so common?
We have different parts of the spine.
The thoracic spine is fixed within the
ribs, but the parts of the spine that
move a lot are the neck and lower
back. The lower back is affected when
we bend to lift things, or when we sit
without any support except muscle
around lower back. And for the neck,
the only support we have is muscle.
If you have weak abdominal muscles
and weak lower back muscles, you’ll
be more prone to lower back pain.
Being overweight makes matters
worse — people who are overweight
usually don’t have strong muscles.
We can’t increase the size of our
bones, but we can increase muscle
mass. Increasing your strength by
building muscles, you will decrease
the load to the spine as well as lower
the risk of developing back pain.
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