Desk Worker Wellness: Modern Solutions for Modern Work Pain by Roberto Salvati
Desk Worker Wellness: Modern Solutions for Modern Work Pain
Whether you work in the office, work from home or combine the two with hybrid working, your desk set up is imperative for your posture. A poor desk set up can lead to bad habits which eventually become the norm and suddenly you are wondering why your neck pain…or back pain…or headaches…or hip pain etc has started.
It is important to know that poor desk posture is not the only thing that creates this pain, it can often be a variety of factors that combine together over weeks, months or years but we probably spend much more time sat in a chair or at a desk than we think we do. It’s easy to get caught up in your work because you’re on a roll and you don’t want to disrupt that rhythm then suddenly you have not moved for 3+ hours and getting out of the chair makes you groan because something (or everything) feels super stiff or super tight.
This is something we see and hear on a daily basis as Osteopaths. We can assess and treat what we see in front of us in our treatment rooms but often patients come back having felt better from treatment for 2 days or so then the muscle tightness, joint stiffness or pain has come back again.
This is why we do a thorough case history taking to work out what your usual day/week may look like and what you are putting your body through. Small changes to how you sit or what your desk set up looks like, can make a huge difference to how you feel and can help you feel better for longer. Here are some points to think about and some exercises to try!
Desk and Chair:
Desk and chair set ups can be tricky as there is no one size fits all and we all have different body types, heights, leg lengths etc. Here are a few things that we can think about when it comes to desk and chair set ups:
- Sit to Stand Desk:
These used to be quite expensive but since the dreaded lockdown of 2020, sit to stand desks are more commonly available and can be a reasonable price. They are a great option as they make it easy for you to sit or stand whilst working allowing you to change posture regularly rather than sitting all day or standing all day (both of which are not ideal).
- Monitor, keyboard and mouse:
Ideally you want to have a monitor with a separate keyboard and separate mouse. This allows you to raise your monitor so that it is at the correct eye level and you are not looking down too much which will affect your neck and back posture. Laptops are not great on a desk set up as you have to compromise between neck posture and using the keyboard. An easy solution can be to get a wireless/Bluetooth keyboard and mouse so you can raise the laptop to eye level and still use a separate keyboard and mouse that is on the desk.
- Chair:
There are so many different types of chairs to choose from! A few simple things to try are to sit back as far as you can in the chair, make sure you are sitting in the chair and not sitting on the chair. Move your chair into your desk as far as you can, this will prevent you from slipping down and slumping in the chair. Alternatives to your normal desk chair can be a swiss ball which allows you to move little bits and often or at SOP we recommend a Z chair which allows you to actively work on engaging postural muscles while you sit. It is great if you sit on it with good posture but you have to really work on it until it becomes your normal. As it has no back, it can be easy to slip back into that slumped posture but in the long run it makes a huge difference and is a great choice!
Habits:
Habits are really important when it comes to posture. Bad habits become normal and suddenly you are hunched over, shoulders rounded, head forward and looking up with a hump on your upper back. Doing little things often makes a huge difference! Here’s a few to think about:
- Time spent sat:
Try not to spend hours upon hours sitting in the same position. Try to limit how long you spent sat in one sitting to 20mins, 30mins, 45mins or 60mins.
- Get up out of chair:
After you have spent a period of time in the chair, make sure you get up out of the chair for 30-60 seconds. Make sure you move your body, walk around the room, bend side to side, turn left and right.
- Drink more water:
Need to get up and out of the chair more often? Kill two birds with one stone by increasing your water intake. Drinking plenty of water is important at the best of times and even more so around this time of year, drink more water and you will need to get up and take a few more trips to the toilet which give you some forced breaks from sitting and gets you moving more.
- Post-it notes:
Some people find placing post-it notes on their screen or on their desk is a good way to remind themselves to think about their posture or to remind themselves to move.
- Mirror or pictures:
Not sure what your posture is like when your sitting? Place a mirror so you can see yourself side on and give it a look every now and then, I guarantee what you see will surprise you! Another good way to check on your posture is to get someone to take a picture of you whilst you’re working. Don’t like what you see?...show that picture to one of our osteopaths and we can help give you some advice on what you can change.
Exercises:
Here are a few exercises that you can try at home (even whilst sat in your chair at the desk) to break up the time you spend sitting. Little bits and often is key here, try to do 30-60 seconds of exercises, go back to work and then after 20-60mins do another 30-60 seconds of stretching.
Hopefully this article gives you plenty to think about and you can look to implement some changes to your desk set up, chair set up, posture when sitting and the habits you have when being desk-based. If you are suffering from headaches, neck and shoulder pain, back pain, hip pain, elbow or wrist pain then get yourself booked in with one of our Osteopaths to help get you back on track and we can go through your set up and give some advice on some changes you could make to feel better for longer.
Roberto