Jobs Prone to Back Pain That You Didn’t Know

When we think of back pain, we immediately think of construction workers, firefighters, or athletes like basketball and baseball players. It’s no wonder we do, because what they do for a living does hurt their back as carrying heavy heights, and moving the entire body is part of the job description. But they’re not the only ones who feel back pain. Here’s a list of people who you didn’t suspect suffered from the same thing.

Pro-gamers

Yes, they exist. For some people, role-playing games are a sport. There are world tournaments that bring together the best gamers from all corners of the world to compete for money, and of course bragging rights. They endure long hours of sitting and clicking, which is an extreme version of our own social media scrolling in a laptop or phone. Only, they have a goal: to defeat the enemy despite the fatigue and restlessness. This sedentary lifestyle usually leads to poor posture, which in turn causes back pain by putting prolonged pressure on the spine.

Nurses

They don’t exactly lift bricks or shoot balls, but people are heavy too. Sometimes, lifting patients is part of the job, especially for ones who are disabled and need assistance in going to the bathroom, and even doing their business in there. Changing patients into appropriate positions in lab testing also puts them in awkward stances in some occasions, which strains their muscles and hurt their lower back. What more is that this is part of their daily routine.

Doctors

Doctors, especially surgeons, emergency doctors, and army doctors, also suffer from back pain. They don’t just sit in an executive office chair waiting for patients. Doctors in the operating room experience pain because of standing for long hours in surgery. Emergency and army doctors strain their muscles trying to save people’s lives. For the former, it’s because of the sudden movements necessary to save incoming patients who just went through an accident. For the latter, it’s trying to save a comrade in a war zone.

Artists

Yep, these inspired (and sometimes depressed) day dreamers hurt their back too, primarily because of poor posture in trying to create a masterpiece. Sketching in a table exposes the artist to a prolonged dropped gaze while focusing on the work, sometimes with a hunched back over the table. It’s not exactly easy to finish an artwork. This strains their neck and back in the process. Sculptors also suffer from awkward positions or standing for long hours, sometimes hunched over in trying to mold difficult corners to beautiful shapes. All of that pain to transform their emotions into something that people can marvel at.

Office Employees

That’s right. Those accountants, digital marketers and web developers sitting in comfortable office chairs are actually common recipients of back pain. While they barely move at work, their only exercise being lunch hour and bathroom breaks, their sedentary lifestyle breaks their back especially when they don’t have ergonomic chairs for posture support. Dropping by the pharmacy after work to buy pain relievers is a common habit.