If you spend your day at a desk and your lower back is stiff, achy, or downright angry by 5 p.m., you are in very good company. Low back pain is one of the most common reasons people come to see us — and "I just sit a lot" is one of the most common stories behind it.
The good news: in most cases, this kind of pain is highly treatable, and it rarely means anything is seriously wrong.
Why sitting bothers your back
Your spine is built to move. When you hold any position for hours — including a "good" one — a few things happen:
- The muscles that support your spine get fatigued and tight.
- Your hips and hip flexors shorten and stiffen.
- The deep stabilizing muscles get lazy because they aren't being challenged.
The result is a back that feels stiff getting up, achy by the end of the day, and cranky the morning after a long drive or flight.
What actually helps
There's no shortage of internet advice here, so let's focus on what moves the needle.
1. Move more often, not just "sit up straight"
The best posture is your next posture. Standing up and moving for two minutes every 30–45 minutes does more than any single ergonomic tweak. Set a timer if you have to.
2. Open up the hips
Tight hips quietly drag on the low back. Gentle hip-flexor stretches and a bit of glute activation can take real pressure off the area.
3. Build the support system
This is the part most people skip — and the reason pain keeps coming back. Strengthening the muscles that stabilize your spine and hips is what makes the relief last. A few targeted exercises, done consistently, beat hours of stretching.
Stretching feels good in the moment. Strength is what keeps the pain from coming back.
When to get it looked at
See someone if your pain is severe, isn't improving after a couple of weeks, radiates down your leg, or comes with numbness, tingling, or weakness. Those are signs worth a proper assessment rather than another YouTube routine.
At Foundation, this is exactly the kind of thing we love to fix — not with endless adjustments, but by finding the real driver and pairing hands-on care with a simple plan you can actually keep up with. If your desk job has been winning lately, book a first visit and let's turn that around.
Written by
Dr. Tushar Rawalji, DC
Founder of Foundation Chiropractic and Wellness in Naperville, IL. Dr. Tushar combines chiropractic care with rehab to fix the root cause — slower, smarter, stronger.