A recent survey conducted on health and clinical evolution in Hyderabad has found that majority of working professionals are becoming victims of various diseases and bodily ailments due to unhealthy working environments being adopted by the organisations.

Working professionals who have to sit for long stretch suffer from various aches and pains. As per a report of a recent health survey and clinical evaluation in 10 private hospitals in Hyderabad, it is found that 50 per cent of patients in the outpatient departments of these hospitals complained of neck, lower back and knee pains due to their work environments.

Of the 2,000 patients who were interviewed for a year, 20 per cent had severe back problems and 25 per cent complained of stiffness in the neck and severe headaches. Of the 20 per cent who complained of back problem, 10 per cent were identified with degenerative disc disease where the lower disc feels the constant pressure due to sitting and begins to wear down.

Similarly, it was found that there was severe stiffness in knee joints due to prolonged sitting. Seventy per cent of the cases also had central abdominal obesity.

Experts say that the main problem with sitting for too long is inconsistent blood flow to various parts of the body due to which certain muscles get signals that they are not of any use.

“A short break to walk every hour is recommended to ensure movement of the muscles and bones. Movement is very important for the health of the bones. It is also important to balance posture while sitting, as majority of orthopaedic problems are due to bad posture,” says Dr. Pravin Mereddy, senior orthopaedic surgeon.

Also about 132 per cent of the patients complained of early fatigue. “Many professionals working on desk top or computer based jobs complain of early fatigue. This is due to lack of vitamin D and B12. This is emerging as a major problem as it is providing to be a deterrent to an ‘active lifestyle’. There are many who want to work-out, walk, dance, and swim and also indulge in sporting events in their office campuses or elsewhere. But their work tires them too much and they do not have any energy for anything else like taking a short walk,” adds another doctor, Dr. Rahul Aggrawal senior general physician.

Therefore it is important that the organisations which have their professionals on long sitting work durations need to encourage their employees to take short breaks and warm up their bodies. Or else in the long go the body does not support them and can become cause of various serious ailments, opined the healthcare experts.