Throughout my research it is apparent that the lifestyles we live in western society have a significant effect on our backs. We Work all day and relax on the sofa at night, so I wanted to get a better understanding of another culture to see what differences and similarities there are between us and them.
I decided to look at Japan and more specifically the ‘Salaryman’. The Salaryman is the Japanese equivalent to our 9-5 office worker. Compared to our average 8 hour working day, the Salarymen think nothing of working 16 hours per day, 6 days a week. They fulfil the most unreasonable demands from their bosses in fear of being overlooked at time of promotion. That alone differs greatly from a 9-5 worker.
One thing that is consistent with both of these types of individual is the work related stress levels they feel. Stress levels can affect the way we feel about ourselves and can also have an effect on the back.
“The back pain claim rate in 1999 was 60 times higher in Washington state than in Japan.”
So how do they deal with the stress levels in Japan and do they differ from how we distress and relax in western society?
In the UK the most common form of relaxation that an office worker would undertake after a hard day at work, would be simply to sit on the sofa infront of the TV and completely chill. That and heading to the local for a pint on the way home. If we analyse the seating position that they adopt while seated it is apparent of how the position their spine takes can have an effect on their back. If we look at the position they adopt while sitting on the sofa they completely let their body go, allowing every part to just drop. It could be said that they are letting their worries drop with the body. This position can have a serious effect on the lower lumbar region of the back, especially when sitting in this period for a long period of time. If we also look at the position that is adopted when sitting at a table in the pub. Again the body is let go, in a completely relaxed position. I think this sedentary lifestyle is one of the main reasons for back problems, but how to the salarymen in Japan relax?
Surprisingly they relax in a similar way to office workers in the U.K. They make their way into the bar districts and drink with co-workers, but there is more to it than that.
“A multi-million dollar industry has grown up around stress reduction. Stress-relieving salons offer things like $10, 10-minute shoulder massages, reflexology lessons and visits to isolation tanks with soothing music and psychedelic lights. Among the stress-relief products on the market are aromatherapy lamps, stress-relieving CDs, herbal teas, sleeping pills and relaxation aids such as $150 robot jellyfish and $11,000 virtual fish tanks. “
This multi-million dollar industry also includes certain types of sex clubs. The salarymen rather spending time taking part in these types of stress release methods, because they find it hard relaxing in their noisy cramped apartments. You can see by this image that they take their stress release very seriously. By looking at this image I don’t think I could feel relaxed in that kind of environment.
In western society then the office worker is definitely living a sedentary lifestyle, the salaryman also to a certain extent is living that same lifestyle. They both suffer from stress and both need to relax afterhours. The sheer volume of after hour activities available in Japan in amazing, but whether or not it is these activities that are decreasing the amount of back pain that is suffered I am undecided. It could be put down to something as simple as they are averagely smaller and lighter that people in western society and therefore not as much force is being applied to the lower back.
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