The way people use artificial intelligence is changing fast. Only a few years ago, simply asking AI a question and getting an answer felt remarkable. Now AI is moving into a stage where it carries out tasks on its own. Without being told each step, it logs on to websites, enters information and works through multiple stages to complete a job. The era of the so-called AI agent has arrived.
A personal AI agent unveiled recently by a global tech company shows the same trend. It sends emails, books travel and transfers insurance payments — tasks people once handled by moving between several screens. The tedious process of searching one site after another and typing the same information over and over disappears. The agent also remembers what the user needs to attend to and brings it up first.
This change is clearly welcome. But one point deserves attention. The convenience that technology brings has generally worked in the direction of making it unnecessary to move the body. Online shopping and delivery services reduced the need to go out, and messengers and video conferencing reduced movement inside the office. The AI agent likewise makes it possible to finish more work in front of a screen in less time. The greater the convenience, the fewer the reasons to get up from a chair.
The more AI takes work off people's hands, the more individuals need to look after their own movement. That is all the more true for office workers who already spend most of the day in front of a computer. The longer the hours spent sitting and the longer the same posture is held, the heavier the burden on the musculoskeletal system, including the lower back, neck and shoulders.
The lower back in particular is vulnerable to a life spent long hours in the same position. A study published in the international journal Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation analyzed 22 studies covering 7,814 office workers. It found that not only prolonged sitting but also poor posture, insufficient rest and the habit of holding one position for a long time were associated with low back pain.
If low back pain persists, it is better to look into the cause than to dismiss it as simple fatigue. When the pain lasts a long time or numbness extends into the buttocks and legs, an accurate diagnosis from medical staff is needed. Fortunately, low back pain stemming from posture or lifestyle habits can in most cases be managed without surgery. Treatment that relaxes muscles around the lower back after long periods of tension and reduces inflammation and pain can help. Among such non-surgical options, integrative Korean medicine treatment is sometimes used. One of these is pharmacopuncture, in which active ingredients extracted from medicinal herbs are injected into the painful area and elsewhere, with the aim of easing inflammation and pain.
Research has also examined how pharmacopuncture improves low back pain. One prominent example is a study by a Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine research team published in the international journal Journal of Pain Research. The team divided 100 patients with chronic low back pain into two groups, giving one pharmacopuncture treatment and the other physical therapy, then compared the results. The patients received 10 treatments over five weeks, and the team tracked their progress through the 25-week mark. At six weeks, the low back pain score (NRS) fell 1.54 points more in the pharmacopuncture group than in the physical therapy group. Lower back disability and quality of life also improved more in the pharmacopuncture group, and the effects held through 25 weeks.
AI will do more and more for us in the years ahead. But no one can move our bodies for us. For those who sit at a computer for long stretches, stand up about once an hour, walk a little, and gently loosen the lower back and hip joints. Simply changing position for a moment changes the burden on the lower back. The more technology makes life easier, the more diligently the body has to move. That is the smartest way to protect health in the age of AI.
