Promoting Good Posture in the Workplace
It’s no secret that sitting at a desk for hours upon hours can cause some serious problems, especially when it comes to back and neck pain, sore wrists, and tired fingers. But you don’t have to let yourself fall victim to these problems, especially when they’ll just keep coming back on a daily basis.
In fact, there are some common office ergonomics that you can take advantage of in order to improve your posture and give yourself relief each and every day you head into the office!
8 Tips to Improve Your Posture in the Office
It isn’t difficult to eliminate back and neck pain from your office experience, especially when you adjust each element of your posture to account for the pain you might be experiencing.
- Chair – Your chair’s height should allow your feet to rest comfortably on the floor and position your knees level with your hips. If there isn’t any lumbar support for the chair, you might want to place a cushion behind your lower back and the chair.
- Position Key Objects Properly – Objects that you use frequently, like your telephone or key printed materials, should be kept close to your body to prevent excessive stretching. If you can’t reach something without stretching, you should always stand up to reach it.
- Positioning Your Mouse – Your mouse should also be kept in easy reach on the side of your keyboard. Keep your wrist in a natural position during use to prevent wrist pain.
- Protect Your Wrist With a Rest – A wrist rest will prevent putting your wrist in awkward positions and will allow you to hold your wrist properly to prevent pain.
- Headset – If you take on the phone frequently, it’s best to invest in a headset. This is because cradling the phone between your neck and head can cause significant stress and discomfort.
- Footrest – If you find that your feet don’t rest on the floor, you might want to consider investing in a footrest. This will put your hips in the right position and prevent back pain.
- Posture – You should always center yourself in front of both your monitor and keyboard. The best way to do this is to sit up straight, keep your thighs horizontal with your knees, and around the same level as your hips. As for your forearms, they should be level or tilted up slightly.
- Monitor Height – Monitor height is the key behind preventing neck pain. A monitor should generally be about an arm’s length away and the screen should be tilted slightly below eye level at the top.
Back Pain Won’t Vanish on Its Own
While these practices can help stop back pain, it probably won’t go away on its own. Luckily, you can turn to simple methods like deep stretching and possibly even inversion therapy to alleviate residual back pain and prevent it from coming back.
With these simple adjustments, you can kiss back and neck pain goodbye and instead, focus on growing your business in comfort.