Ergonomic Tips for Sitting Pretty
Sitz bones or “sit bones” – this is what we need to sit on to have good posture while seated. When you slouch or tuck your tail you’re straining your low back. Overtime (weeks, months, years) your body will no longer be able to adapt to poor biomechanics and you’ll most likely experience pain.
Since most of us spend a lot of time sitting at the computer, especially now with everyone working more from home. Invest in yourself and take the time to set up your workspace to optimize your health.
How To Optimize Your Computer Workstation
Here are some quick ergonomic tips to optimize your computer workstation. Trust me, they will make a huge difference:
- Arms and elbows should be relaxed next to your body– Use a Keyboard – those of you on a desktop have a keyboard! Yahoo! Those of you working on a laptop NEED, did I say NEED, a separate keyboard. This investment alone will help alleviate so much muscle tension in your neck and upper back.
- Center your monitor directly in front of you – anywhere from 20 – 40” away. Rule of thumb is an arm’s distance away but with larger monitors, this may be too close. This is all in accordance with your eye-sight, display quality, touch screen or not, desk layout, etc. Laptop on monitor stand elevated to eye level – if you use two screens, position them so they are directly in front of your field of vision, or close, do your best to prevent looking left or right, over your shoulder to view your monitor. If you need a boost in order to be sitting at eye level try this , I also take it with me on flights. It’s so handy 🙂
- Use a good chair with a dynamic back. It’s very important to use a chair which supports your body’s alignment and helps maintain a proper posture. There are lots of ergonomic chairs out in the market which can help you to fix your posture or relieve your back, neck and shoulder pain. You can also try adding a lumbar support rest to your current chair, click here for one that I recommend.
- Take frequent breaks and keep your body moving during the day.This is good for so many reasons. It’s great for your cardiovascular system, your posture, and of course it prevents back pain. (this will save your time and money in my office and prevent neck pain and muscle tension)
I’m not on my office computer much and I’ve still got the old Dell 16” monitor. I sit about arms distance away and love my ball chair! At the front desk we have a new Dell 21” monitor and it’s so much nicer than mine. She has the better monitor and chair and for those of you on computers all day, invest in your workstation and proper ergonomics. This is one of the most important things you can do for better posture and alignment.
It’s really about comfort for you. I have had too many patients over the years have their monitor to the left or right of them, so essentially they have to turn their head to the left to look at the monitor. What do you think will happen to your neck, the muscles and spine, sitting 8+ hours a day, 40+ hours per week for months/years. Neck pain, numbness and tingling down the arms, headaches, time to see Dr. B!
While I love treating you, the bottom line is you have to fix your workstation to live and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
As Ghandi said “Be the Change you want to see in the World!”
Dr Jackie B is saying…..
“Change your posture (your mindset, your ergonomics, your biomechanics), change your Life!”
Yeah Baby!!!!!
