Why do teachers get back and leg pain?
Because the job asks your body to do four tiring things in one day. You stand for periods at a time, bend over students’ desks, climb school stairs and carry bags of books.
In Ipoh, add the heat of a classroom with a slow fan, the assembly in the morning sun and a long walk across the school field. By the evening your legs are heavy and your lower back is tight.
Where does the strain build up?
It helps to name the parts of the day that cost you most.
- Standing on a hard classroom floor for whole periods.
- Leaning over the board or over a student’s book.
- Climbing and descending school stairs with a full bag.
- Sitting in a low staff-room chair to mark or type.
- Marking at home on the sofa or bed, with your neck bent.
Once you know your two biggest ones, you can change those first. You do not need to fix everything at once.
What can I change between periods?
Make small changes that fit a timetable. Stand with one foot on a low stool or the rung of a chair for a minute, then swap. This takes load off the lower back.
When you lean over a desk, bend at the hips with a straight back and rest a hand on the desk. On the stairs, hold the rail and take them one at a time with your bag close to your body.
In the staff room, sit well back in the chair with a rolled towel behind your lower back. Stand up at least once between marking tasks.
How can I mark books at night without hurting?
Set up like a small desk, even at home. Sit at the dining table with the books raised on a few thick books, so you are not looking down at a flat pile.
Take a short break after each class set. Walk to the kitchen for water, roll your shoulders and stretch your calves against the wall. Marking on the bed or sofa is the habit that costs the neck and the lower back the most.
For setting up a work area, read about workplace ergonomics, and for neck aches from marking, our neck pain page.
When is it more than normal tiredness?
Have it checked if the pain wakes you at night, spreads down a leg, or comes with numbness or weakness. Go to the emergency department for numbness around the groin, trouble passing urine or sudden leg weakness.
If your feet ache after standing, flat feet may be part of the picture, and back pain explains how a physiotherapist looks at the lower back.
Can physiotherapy fit around teaching hours?
Yes. We can arrange a home visit in the evening or at the weekend, when the school day is done. You do not need to rush from the staff room to a clinic.
We look at how you stand, bend and carry, then give short exercises for the back, hips and calves that fit between periods. See how a visit works on our home physiotherapy page. Prices are quoted on WhatsApp.