Back pain is responsible for British employees taking five million sick days a year, a back care expert said today.
A spokesperson for BackCare, an independent UK charity, said that one per cent of the working population is on leave because of back problems on any given day.
They said: "Our increasingly sedentary lifestyles are partly to blame as our bodies are designed to be active; driving, sitting statically at a computer and slouching in front of the TV all increase the risk of getting back pain."
Steps to take to avoid potential back pain problems at work include changing positions every 20 minutes, walking to colleagues' desks to communicate instead of using email and standing up for some phone calls, according to the charity.
Additionally, it recommends that "many short breaks are better than one long one" to avoid staying in one position for a length of time.
The BBC reported last year that University of Manchester researchers are developing a stem cell treatment to rebuild intervertebral discs, a common cause of back pain.
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