Posture and work set ups Part one: Neck pain - is it just how you are sitting?
We often get asked - is there an ideal posture and workstation set up?
Well there's more to it than what you'd think and there's not one perfect set up for everyone.
Firstly neck pain is very very common.
Having an 'perfect ergonomic' set up does not mean that you are immune to developing neck pain unfortunately. It helps, but there are always other factors involved.
Some recent research shows that poor sleep, reduced physical activity, and increased stress appear to be important factors in developing neck pain.
In one such study, those with neck pain were found to be getting less quality and quantity of sleep, were working in jobs with high strain and were less physically active.
Their bodies were essentially experiencing greater stress, and they noticed more “muscle tension” in their neck.
TRY SLEEP, EXERCISE, AND RELAXATION
Getting a little more sleep, enjoying exercise — even simply walking a greater number of steps each day and getting some 'you' time—have all been shown to protect against getting neck pain.
If you find yourself sitting for long periods in one position, make an effort to switch it up - change positions frequently throughout the day as much as possible.
And if you do have neck pain, why not get a few early nights, consider doing something relaxing — and go for a walk at lunchtime.
Nice to read about, but you really want some tips and what to do right?
Here are our Top 6 work set up tips:
Posture related neck and back pain make up a huge % of the type of injuries we see on a daily basis.
The body was designed to move and not be stuck sitting behind the computer all day.
Here are a few tips to help with your set up to keep posture related aches and pains at bay.
Screen height and position:
Screen height should be set so that as you look at your screen and the direct line of your vision should be around 2-4 inches from the top of the screen. Your screen should be arms length away from you
Screen use:
A majority of people these days work from two screens (fun eh!).
Check your screen dominance - i.e do you use both equally, or one a lot more than the other?
This will effect how and where you should have your dominant screen (tip it should be centralised to stop repeated neck twisting to one side).
Sitting position
Sounds very simple but make sure you are actually sitting all the way back in your seat and tuck your chair right in close to your desk. This way you can the use the actual support of the chair.
Your head should be held in a comfortable position allowing shoulders to be relaxed down whilst hands rest on keyboard
Keyboard and mouse
Elbows should be at a greater angle than 90 degrees and not resting on arm rests whilst using your keyboard
Keyboard and Mouse should be close to the edge of your desk to allow your wrists to be placed on keyboard in a neutral position
Depending on the type of work you do a document holder / writing plane may be beneficial. Make sure documents that you routinely use are within easy reach
Technology
Making yourself familiar with short cut keys that are available to you on the software that you use so that you can vary between keyboard and mouse.
Get moving
Movement is key!!!!!
You should be changing position every 25-30mins- so take a phone call standing up, drink lots of water, even if you are sitting in an ideal position, any movement is better than no movement!
