As millions across the country have shifted from working in an office to working from home, we’ve seen an increase in patients experiencing new aches and pains. Ergonomics in the office are important as you spend hours a day working away. Just because you aren’t working from the office doesn’t mean your workspace shouldn’t be spine friendly. Here are some tips to prevent back pain while working from home.
Keep Your Neck Straight
Whether you are viewing your screen or reviewing documents, what you are looking at should be at a comfortable viewing height. If you have your screen at too much of an angle, you’ll have to twist your neck to work and will end up with neck pain from the swiveling. While working from home, you may not have the same setup as in the office, but all it takes is a stack of books or paper to get your screen up to eye level. And the same goes for reading documents – if you keep your papers flat on the table, your head will constantly be moving up and down. Try a vertical document holder or stand and keep it next to your screen for easy viewing.
Put Your Mouse and Keyboard at a Comfortable Height
If your laptop is raised to get your screen at the right eye level, try using a separate mouse and keyboard. Your hands and forearms should be level and straight and your arm should be close to the side of your body when you use your mouse. The nerves in your hand leave your neck and run down through your shoulder, elbow, and then wrist. When your arm is as your side, it prevents the nerves from being compressed. When you stretch it out to the side, you increase the risk of straining your shoulder or neck.
Take Advantage of Voice Input
Most phones, computers, and laptops come with voice recognition software. This is a useful tool that is good for most emails and text. This gives your hands, wrists, and arms time to rest.
Sit with Your Feet Flat
Sitting with your feet flat on the floor is a great way to protect your body and promote proper posture. Letting your feet dangle if they don’t reach the floor or pulling them underneath your chair puts added pressure under your thighs and restricts blood flow to your feet and lower legs thus increasing your risk of a deep vein thrombosis.
Avoid Too Much Sitting or Standing
If you’ve been following our blogs, you know the dangers of over-sitting. To prevent over-sitting, it’s important to get up and get moving at least once an hour. This helps both physically and mentally. Not only will your brain get a break, but your legs and back will get a nice stretch, bringing fresh nutrients and oxygen throughout the body. But just because sitting too much is dangerous doesn’t mean you should spend the whole day standing. It’s not healthy to remain sedentary all day, but too much standing can put a strain on your legs, feet, and circulatory system. Rotating between standing and sitting is a safe bet, but just like most everything, too much standing or too much sitting can be bad for your health.
Get Adjusted at Sydney Allied Health Clinic
At Sydney Allied Health Clinic Marrickville, our goal is to help you achieve true health and wellness. Whether it’s relieving your body of new aches and pains from working at home, getting your spine back in proper alignment, or helping you improve your health and wellness, chiropractic care comes with many benefits. To learn more about how your local chiropractor can help, call us on (02) 95598877
