Low back pain - it's not your chair's fault.

#lowbackpain #sciatica #sitting #chair #chainsaw

Do you ever find yourself wanting to take a chainsaw to your chair? "That chair is killing my back." But it isn't really. It's you sitting in it that's the problem. Maybe you'd have the same pain sitting in any chair for that length of time? Maybe not.

Hasn't it ever struck you that it's strange that we blame the chair? The chair is an inanimate object. It cannot consciously do anything to you. So how can it be the chair's fault? Maybe it's the designer's fault? Or your boss' fault for making you sit on it? Or the facilities person that ordered it. Or - if you're working from home - your partner's fault for using the only decent chair you have in the house.

OK, your relationship with your chair isn't good. Maybe you should try relationship counselling to resolve your problems? I wonder how that therapy would go...

Therapist: "So, would you like to start this session by describing what your understanding is of the situation? Where the challenges are in your relationship? Who would like to start?"

Chair: Silence...

You: "This chair is a nightmare. It causes me so much pain. I'm just fed-up with it. I've had enough. I want out of this relationship."

Therapist: "It seems that your chair is the focus of great frustration and suffering for you. Would that be fair to say?"

You: "You're damn right. That pretty much sums it up."

Therapist: "So Chair, would you like to comment on that?"

Chair: Silence...

In the style of Monty Python, I could go on...

But try this one on for size.... What if it's your fault? Or rather, what if the responsibility for your back pain lies with you?

Your problem isn't really with the chair. It's with pain. The chair wouldn't bother you at all if you didn't experience pain, would it? How about being a bit more curious about your relationship with pain? And what role the chair has in triggering your pain?

So, what is pain? As I've written before, pain is a biological alarm system. It's there to warn you that there's a potential problem brewing. Pain is most helpful when it kicks in before you damage yourself. And the relationship between pain and damage is vague.

You can have severe pain without any damage. And you can have severe damage without any pain. If you want to know more about this topic, please read the article I wrote entitled "Why does my back hurt when I sit at my computer? The surprising truth..."

If you're convinced that changing your chair would solve your pain, then change it. The chair won't take anything away from the relationship. You still get to keep the dog. Health and Safety laws in the UK are on your side. Flag up the problem to your employer, and they are obliged to investigate. Because they don't want to be sued by you, many will pay an unreasonable sum of money to have an "expert" come in. They will specify what type of chair you need - almost certainly more expensive than the one you currently have. Usually this person is not a clinician specialising in back pain. They are someone working to a recipe.

Will this solve your pain? It might. And it might not. Because it depends whether the mechanics of the chair were the only factor (read the article linked to above to find out about all the other important factors). And now we've introduced another player into the relationship drama. The ergonomist/physio/chair supplier/Health and Safety rep; the person given responsibility for solving your chair problem.

It turns out that if you don't like that person, the chances that your new chair will improve your situation are lower than if you do like the person.

And what about the new chair? Well again, if you take an instant dislike to the chair ("Who chose that colour?!"), you're less likely to feel an improvement. But because you've been told that the chair is very expensive, this increases the likelihood that you'll prefer it. And that you'll feel better.

This is getting complicated. Just like any relationship.

But what - or who - is the common factor in this problem?

We're back to you, aren't we? Maybe you could find out how to sit in such a way that your back doesn't hurt? I think your relationship therapist would likely point out that you have more control than the chair does.

Instead of writing this lengthy article, I could have just written: "A bad workman always blames his tools". But I didn't want you to dislike me as well as your chair.

Seriously, don't blame your chair. Your chair is completely unconcerned, and beyond therapy. Take responsibility.

If you'd like some practical guidance on sitting, here's a podcast episode I recorded. And put that chainsaw away before you do yourself a mischief!