Sitting for hours in a car or at a desk can cause low back pain and/or low back stiffness. There are several back support cushions on the market designed to reduce pain with sitting.

 

Most people use a lumbar cushion. This is generally a cylindrical shaped pillow that you place in the small of your back. The idea with this type of back support is that the pillow will force you to maintain the natural curve in the low back. Unfortunately, these popular back support cushions have the opposite effect they are going for; a cushion in the lumbar area tends to encourage people to push their backs into the support thereby causing slouching and back problems.

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If you are spending a lot of time sitting in an office chair or in a car, try using a seat wedge instead of the traditional lumbar supports. I like the wedge for back support because, with the backend being higher, it makes it almost impossible for you to slouch. Sitting on the slanted wedge back support cushion encourages the pelvis to tilt slightly forward, shifting the body weight onto the "sits bones".

 

The wedge cushion therefore places you in a "neutral spine" position, which has two main benefits:

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1. Your joints are most protected from the forces of gravity pushing down on your body in the neutral position.

2. Your deep abdominals, which support your back are activated in this position.

 

Click on this Back Support Cushion YouTube Video for a demonstration.