Is your Desk Job Giving you Back Problems?

A major cause of back problems may be hidden inside your day job.

Today, with more and more occupations involving employees sitting at desks for a full work day, there is an increased risk of back pain caused by the long-term sitting sessions hunched over our work computers.

Many factors relating to desk jobs have direct impacts upon our back health. These include the height of your chair; your posture in your chair; the position of your computer screen, keyboard, and mouse; and how your desk is laid out.

Sitting the wrong way affects our backs because sitting for too long will impede the flow of blood through the discs in our spine. Sitting also adds more pressure to our spines than when we stand up.

In other words, staying sedentary at our workstations can hurt our physical health.

Luckily, there are some solutions available to avoid or minimize the impact of sitting for too long at work.

Get up and move around regularly

To start, make sure you’re not stuck in your desk chair for more than a half hour at a time. Getting up and moving about for a few minutes every 30 minutes will loosen your back and get blood flowing properly again.

Set up your chair correctly

The height of your chair should be set so that your forearms and wrists are straight and even with the floor while using your keyboard. Your elbows, meanwhile, should form a perfect L shape right at the elbow joint.

Put your computer monitor at eye level

You shouldn’t have to crane your neck when reading your computer screen. A properly set-up screen will be roughly arms’ length away from your body, while the top section of the monitor should be viewable at eye level.

Make sure your feet are in the proper positioning

Your desk chair should allow your feet to sit comfortably flat on the floor. This is the optimal position for your body. Avoid the temptation to cross your legs on your chair, as this will throw off your posture.

Space out your mouse and keyboard correctly

To ensure that your posture stays in a healthy position, set up your mouse and keyboard so that they’re within just the right amount of reach. For your keyboard, this means giving it a gap of between 4 and 6 inches from the front of the desk; your mouse, meanwhile, should sit as close to your body as possible, as this will stop your arm from bending.

For more advice on proper body care during office hours, contact Dynamic Physio today!