Do you work in an office?
Do you find yourself struggling with neck, shoulder or back pain when you’re sitting for long periods of time?
There’s a way to create a more safe, healthy and comfortable working environment for you, so you don’t have to put up with annoying aches and pains.
Let’s start at the bottom, with your ankles…
Your ankles should be supported via a foot rest, keeping the ankle joints at just over a 90 degree angle.
That same rule applies to your knees.
Keep them at slightly over a 90 degree angle with at least 80-90% of your thighs supported on your seat parallel to the floor.
At all times your feet are planted firmly on the floor and you’re not sitting in a twisted position – which I know can be easy to do after sitting for hours without regular breaks!
Moving up to your back…
A lot of us are guilty of having poor sitting posture.
Slouching in our chairs at work creating unnecessary stresses through our spine and the soft tissues (muscles, tendons and ligaments) that support our spine and body!
To avoid this extra stress it’s important to ensure that your bum is touching the back of the chair.
So shuffle right to the back of your chair, don’t be worried if your feet come off the floor, this is where the foot support will be ideal and come in handy.
Using a lumbar support is a great way to keep your posture straight and help say goodbye to aches in your lower back.
Now let’s move up again to take care of those painful necks and shoulders…
Do you spend a lot of your day at work on the phone?
Here’s a tip – use a headset to avoid your typical hunched over neck and shoulder phone position, keeping your neck free and loose.
How about if you’re spending long hours on the computer, or using a laptop?
Just like your legs, it’s important to support your arms with arm rests which should be just higher than the level of your desk.
Keep your elbows at just over 90 degrees and the level with your keyboard.
The height and positioning of your computer screen is the most important thing for your neck.
The top of your monitor should be directly at eye level and straight ahead so you’re not twisting your neck and leaning forward.
If you work from a laptop, you can get yourself a laptop raise to raise the screen up to your eye level.
The use of an external keyboard and mouse can also avoid any issues caused by raising your screen.
Most importantly, it keeps your elbows and wrists in the correct position.
If you’re struggling and find it hard to relieve your pain, take a hot water bottle or microwavable wheat bag to work with your and apply for 20 minute periods throughout the day.
I hope you’ve found this quick tips article helpful to your daily working like, but remember movement is a must!
So whether you’re sitting or getting up to warm your wheat bag, take regular periods to get moving or stretching to avoid seizing up!