A Talk on Sitting Postures That Reduce Strain on the Lower Back

I am sure some of you also suffer from lower back pain.
I have been struggling with lower back pain for the past three months.
Originally, I would sometimes feel like my lower back was "tired."
It felt like my muscles were tight or stiff from sitting all day at work.
However, it never went beyond that, and I had never felt pain that I would describe as "lower back pain" before.

Then, I don't know what triggered it, but one night three months ago, it became catastrophically painful to the point where I couldn't even sleep...
From then on, every day, I would go through cycles of the pain intensifying and then easing up throughout the day.

I have been going to an osteopathic clinic, where someone with a judo therapist qualification massages? or presses? on me, and I also have electricity applied for about 30 minutes.
I had been going every week since the day after that incident, but I was told, "I want you to come twice a week," and well, the expenses are not trivial...
It's 2,500 yen per visit, so if I go twice a week and don't know when it will heal, it adds up.

When I asked about it honestly, the breakdown is 2,000 yen for the massage, which is not covered by insurance, and 500 yen for the electrical treatment, which is covered.
Since they said just the electrical treatment is fine, I plan to increase the frequency and focus on that.
Even when they do massage me, it's not very thorough; it feels more like they are searching for painful spots while bending and stretching my joints.
It's not that the cause or the bad spots have been clearly identified, but since they seem to have some idea, it seems that just the electrical treatment is fine.

While entrusting my body to the experts like that, I also looked into what I could improve in my daily life.
Since my job requires me to sit all day, I thought it might be good to improve how I sit and my posture, so I Googled it and found several easy-to-understand explanations.

I tried it out that very day, even while feeling a bit of pain, and I was surprised at how much the pain subsided.
I am truly amazed that just changing how I sit and my posture could have such an effect.

Since I went to the trouble of finding out, I would like to share it while also keeping it as a memo for myself.

First, there is what is called "good posture."
If you don't know any better, you might think it means sitting in a chair and puffing out your chest.
When you do that, your pelvis tilts forward, and it looks like good posture!
I used to sit this way whenever my lower back started to hurt.
However, apparently, this actually puts a lot of strain on the lower back.
Because you are forcing your pelvis forward, it puts excessive strain on the muscles in your back and lower back.
Indeed, I have felt that "tightness" in my lower back before, and it might be that the lower back pain was caused by the daily accumulation of strain on the muscles that support the lower back.

Next is the posture of sitting shallowly and leaning back in the chair.
This is a classic example of bad posture that anyone can see.
If you try sitting this way consciously, you will realize that while it seems comfortable, it actually puts a subtle strain on your gluteal muscles.
It's like you are bracing yourself so you don't slide off.
The lower back muscles are relaxed, but it seems this way of sitting puts a heavy burden on the iliopsoas muscles.

So, how should you sit? It seems "sitting on your sit bones" is the way to go.
When you sit in a chair, try placing your hands under your buttocks.
Then, if you move your hips back and forth, you can clearly feel the bones on the left and right.
These are what are called "sit bones."
The way to sit that is good for your lower back is to have these sit bones touching the chair and your spine resting on top of them.
Because you are sitting on your bones and your spine is straight on top of them, you don't need to use your muscles to support yourself, so naturally, there is no strain.
I see!
Even when sitting this way, if you try to lift your body from a leaned-back position, you use your muscles, and the strain remains.
Therefore, you should round your back, lean forward, and lift your lower back, then as you lower your hips, feel your sit bones hitting the chair, and set your posture while being conscious of your spine resting on top of them.

When I did as I was told, my lower back muscles were indeed relaxed, and my upper body even felt lighter.
It was a bit of a revelation.
My impression after continuing this for a while is, as I wrote at the beginning, it is incredibly effective!
The fact that I am writing this post is also because I have continued to do it since then and have been largely freed from the daily cycle of pain and relief.

Since I have to consciously set my posture, I must not forget to do it every time and make it a habit.
This is also a memo for that purpose.

Well, I can see a glimmer of hope for my lower back to recover, but actually, I also suffer from hip joint pain, and that is more serious...
If this way of sitting becomes a habit, my habit of crossing my legs will also improve, so I pray that this will get better too...