Have a sore neck or back, and don’t know why? You’re not alone. The source of these problems, often times, doesn’t originate from any extracurricular activity but instead from daily inactivity at work. If you work at a desk like countless other Canadians, the posture you take sitting for those 8 hour days is likely the problem. Even those who don’t work desk jobs may find themselves using laptops for prolonged periods, and if you’re engaging in bad posture, you’ll still produce those adverse effects on your body. The focus shouldn’t be on your occupation - keep an eye on your habits instead! Areas like the spine, neck, wrist, shoulders, and jaw are all likely to experience pain due to bad posture. If you’re experiencing daily pain in any of these areas, you could be sitting in an unhealthy way and subjecting your body to unnecessary stress! For tips on how to improve your posture and alleviate some of your pain, look no further!

Good Posture with a desktop computer

Position your body in your chair, like so: straighten out your back, roll your shoulders back, make sure your elbows and hips are bent at 90 degrees, straighten your wrists, and plant your feet flat on the ground. Doing all of these things will position you in an ergonomic way, that doesn’t stress any part of your body. If you find that while you’re in this position your keyboard isn’t in line with your wrists, you need to adjust your chair/ desk height accordingly. After that’s adjusted, check where your computer monitor is in your field of vision - your eyes should be aligned with the top third of your monitor to prevent any craning of the neck.

Good posture with a laptop

Because laptops are so portable, we often use them in a variety of less than ideal positions (especially during the later hours of a Netflix marathon!) Part of the problem stems from the fact that a laptop is, by design, not very ergonomic. With the keyboard so close to the screen, positioning both correctly is all but impossible. With that said, the best way to use a laptop is similar to how we recommend using a desktop. Seating properly and keeping a level gaze with your screen using a stand or platform is your best case scenario, and external keyboards are your friends. When that’s not an option, focus on rolling your shoulders and trying not to crane your neck as you look at the screen.

Good posture with your smartphone

Repetitive strain can follow you for life, and injuries like carpal tunnel or tendonitis originate from the excessive and elongated use of impractical devices like keyboard and smartphones. Do yourself a favour - keep your texts short, use both hands when possible, and keep your wrists straight. How you hold your phone may seem trivial, but we do it for hours a day without knowing, and simple tricks like bringing it to eye level to avoid arching your neck can change your health and your future for the better. Life is notorious for putting us in bizarre positions, but if you can be mindful of your posture and your habits, you’ll have a way easier time sidestepping the soreness that comes from desk jobs, modern technology, and our desire to be online at all times! If you have any tips for working ergonomically, let us know on social media!

Source Url: http://gobelmont.ca/how-to-have-good-posture-at-work/