Why Does Slouching Hurt?
Sitting with a rounded back does several things to cause injury and pain. Rounding forward (slouching) when sitting holds the muscles in a longer than normal position, which weakens them. It also slowly degenerates your discs, the little cushions between your back bones (vertebrae), and pushes the discs outward to the back. This is how discs herniate, also called a slipped disc. A slipped disc can bulge outward enough to press on nearby nerves, sending pain down your leg. This is called sciatica. This is easy to prevent. Rounding your back pressures discs and soft tissue in your neck, your upper back, and lower back. Over years the discs can be pushed outward (herniate), especially the neck and the lowest one that takes the most weight when you sit and bend badly. That hurts. (The lowest disc and back bones are shown in the drawing.) When Do You Round Your Back? Check to see if you round your back when sitting. Do you round your back all day at work, then round to “relax.” No wonder yo
