Seated salsa exercise shows promise for easing lower back pain

Lower back pain, a condition affecting an estimated 619 million people worldwide, could be eased with a simple seated exercise, experts say.

The movement, known as “seated salsa,” requires no standing and can be performed at a desk, according to BBC.

Lower back pain is the leading cause of disability globally and is defined as pain between the lower edge of the ribs and the buttocks. It affects people of all ages but is more common among those who are overweight, smoke, or have a family history of the condition.

"I used to work with spinal surgeons, and if you look at where people have most problems in the back, it's the bottom two discs in the vertebrae," said Chris McCarthy, an associate professor of physiotherapy at Manchester Metropolitan University.

The human backbone consists of 33 vertebrae separated by spongy discs that act as shock absorbers during everyday activities such as walking, running, and jumping. The bottom two vertebrae, where most lower back pain occurs, are attached to the pelvis with thick ligaments that provide stability but also limit movement.

"It's a really stiff part of the back, and it's very difficult to get it to move, especially when the local muscles are in spasm due to pain, or tight due to lack of use," McCarthy said.

Rotating the pelvis from side to side can help exercise these muscles. However, in cases of lower back pain, muscle spasms often immobilise the area, creating a cycle of stiffness and discomfort.

Studies indicate that movement is a crucial component of the healing process for back pain, typically achieved through exercises, stretches, and manual therapy. Yet many recommended stretches fail to target the lower part of the back.

Seated salsa aims to fill that gap. To perform it, sit upright with feet flat on the floor and thighs parallel. While keeping the shoulders still, push the right knee forward and pull the left knee back, then reverse the motion. This causes the pelvis to rock from side to side, mimicking the motion of walking. The exercise should be repeated for one minute.

"Your pelvis is doing this little sort of rocking motion, which is what it's supposed to do when you're walking," McCarthy said.

In a pilot study conducted by McCarthy and colleagues at the MMU Manchester Movement Unit, patients with lower back pain performed seated salsa while hooked up to electromyography (EMG) sensors, which measure muscle tightness. The results suggested that just one minute of the exercise every 30 minutes was sufficient to relax muscles and ease pain.

"The nice thing about it is it's very easy to do whilst you're at work. You don't even have to get up from the desk," McCarthy said.

The exercise may also benefit older adults or people with limited mobility. Office workers who spend long periods seated are particularly at risk for lower back pain, and even brief periods of activity, such as walking for a drink, can reduce risk.

"If office workers are in the middle of something and they don't want to get up and stretch, rather than standing up, you could just every half an hour, have a little bit of seated salsa for a minute or so," McCarthy said.

Research underscores the importance of regular movement for maintaining health, particularly among older populations.

"We know that lots of older people are not very physically active," said Jugdeep Dhesi, a consultant geriatrician and president of the British Geriatrics Society.

"If you are not able to move properly, seated exercises are a good way of building up strength. But if you are, then there's so much stuff people could do. Whether it's standing on one leg while you're brushing your teeth, or doing just two or three squats holding the back of the chair while the kettle is boiling – it's all about building this into a habit that just becomes a norm that you will always do."

By Aghakazim Guliyev