Over the weekend I had severe back pain that was radiating into my hips and I was wondering what was wrong with my sudden back pain. After sharing this in the thread and reading the responses I received, I realized that the cause of the pain I was experiencing was not having a suitable workspace for my online work.
I use my laptop almost every day on the living room table, which is much lower than the couch. I tend to bend over the desk and put too much force on my spinal cord and lower back so it hurts. I had never known that it was the placing of my laptop on the desk that was causing the back pain, as this all started a few weeks ago when my power went out, and I had to connect temporarily from my neighbor's apartment to my living room, where I had to plug in my laptop until I got the power back on.
I have been operating my laptop in my dining room with the table far higher than that of my living room; however, come the power blackout, I had to improvise a working zone in my living room. I never knew that bending over while working at a lower desk could give me severe back pain.
For the past two weeks, I have been wondering what was the cause of the sudden back pain after not doing any physical work for over 2 years. I thought the underlying fever might be the problem and the pain was a symptom. I treated my fever and still, the pain didn't go away. At one point I was worried that these were not symptoms of arthritis that a person of my age should not experience.
Turns out the problem wasn't fever or arthritis. It's a requirement of my workspace because sitting on the couch all the time has me bending over my desk to use my laptop at the living room table.
At my age, I can start suffering from back pain as early as 40. I'm 40 years old and I shouldn't have back pain, right? I found that if I put my laptop on a higher table in the dining room with the chair I use with it, I wouldn't experience back pain. But due to the lack of electricity, I have to keep using the laptop on the table in the living room.
After discovering the cause of my back pain, I decided not to move the laptop and other computer equipment to the bedroom, where I built a new desk and a nice chair for them. This positioning could help me the most since I will be closer to my bed. I can easily wake up at any time of the night and do something with the computer.
This discovery helped me set up a proper workspace that includes a desk, chair, and power cords so I can sit on a chair and use my laptop properly instead of using it on the living room table. room or dining room as I did.
I have been taking medicine for back pain and fever for the past 2 weeks and have been taking it regularly. However, I decided not to continue the treatment because it can make me drowsy, and having understood the cause of the pain, and as suggested by some Inleo friends, I believe that some exercise can cure the problem faster.
I would like to show how harmful sitting posture is for the spinal cord and lower back.
Basil Otis White, an American acupuncturist, in his book "Spine" recommended sitting at least 40 cm or more from the bed to reduce pressure on the spine.
If a person sits upright with the buttocks on a chair or couch, the lower back cannot relax. The muscles in the lower back are thus under constant tension. Therefore, the muscles are not used to their full capacity.
I know some people use lap laptops, but it doesn't matter if the laptop is on the lap. The pain is caused by the lower back not being able to relax, causing the lower back lap position to be too much to hold the tension.
In conclusion, I wish everyone to think about the issue of sitting correctly on a chair or couch so that we remain mobile. At least have a proper workspace to prevent spine and back pain when using a laptop on a desk.
If you've had back pain like me, now you know what's causing it and you have a solution to stop the pain and get your spine back on track.
I would like to thank the Inleo community and fellow Lions for sharing their opinion on my problem as they helped me solve my back pain problem.