Sit Versus Stand: Optimal Combinations for Managing Low Back Pain

CME/MOC: 1.5
TRACK: OEM Clinical Practice

Jack P. Callaghan, PhD, CCPE, FCSB, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
Fred Gerr, MD, FACOEM, University of Iowa, College of Public Health, Iowa City, IA
David Rempel, MD, FACOEM, University of California, San Francisco, CA

Among office workers, low back pain can be associated with prolonged sitting or standing. This session will review recent epidemiologic findings linking low back pain among sedentary workers to the duration of sitting or standing in the workplace. In addition, recent laboratory studies of sedentary workers with low back pain have investigated a range of patterns of sitting and standing to identify combinations that are associated with the greatest relief of pain. Both, epidemiological and laboratory/mechanistic studies examining effects of sitting and standing on back pain will be reviewed.