What Is The Most Common Complaint Resulting From Ergonomically Incorrect Computer Workstations?
5 Physical Problems You Have From Sitting Still All Day, Solved
Desk Job Danger #1: Lower Back Pain
How to Quickly Relieve Tension
Move your pelvis back and forth while sitting in your desk chair, turn your hips up and round your back, and then tilt your hips back. “That will help get those back muscles loosened up,” says Stephen Aguilar, occupational therapist and certified ergonomic assessment specialist at UCLA Rehabilitation Services.
The Long-Term Fix
Get some funding. To help you sit upright the length of your back should reach the back of your chair. If there is a void, use a lumbar pillow to support yourself and help prevent you from falling back or forth into poor posture. Also, make sure that your feet stay flat on the floor, with thighs parallel to the ground.
Breaking a sweat will help too. Abdominal exercises, such as crunches, will strengthen the heart two to three times a week. That takes pressure off your back and makes good posture easier to maintain.
Desk Job Danger #2: Eye Strain
How to Quickly Relieve Tension
Look at something off in the distance every 20 to 30 minutes, like a window over the office range, for 20 seconds to give your eyes a break. Better still, get up and chat with a friend in another office area, or sprint to the supply closet to grab a new pen — anything to give your eyes a screen break.
The Long-Term Fix
The Occupational Safety & Health Administration suggests making sure that your computer monitor is 20 to 40 inches away from you, so that it’s not too close or too far from where you’re. At eye level, the top of the computer monitor should be about. You can also place a filter to reduce glare over your display, which leads to eye strain.
If you are wearing glasses at work, weigh the distance between your eyes and the computer monitor by a ballpark. Then consult with your optometrist to ensure that you have the correct prescription for the drive.
Desk Job Danger #3: Wrist Strain
How to Quickly Relieve Tension
Perform a stretch of meditation, also known as a stretch of Buddha: Place your fingers and palms in front of your chest with your hands pointing upwards. When holding your palms together and pulling your elbows out, lower your hands until your wrists feel a good stretch. Keep in for 5 seconds.
The Long-Term Fix
Hold your wrists naturally when you are using the keyboard or mouse so that they float horizontally in the air — not perched higher than your hands or resting on your desk. Give your keyboard and mouse a wrist rest, too.
Desk Job Danger #4: Neck and Shoulder Pain
How to Quickly Relieve Tension
Hold your spine straight while standing or sitting upright, and move your head forward, jutting your chin out as far as possible. Reverse the movement slowly by pulling back your head as far as you can, as if you were recoiling away from someone. Throughout the stretch, your head should remain level, which you will feel at the base of your neck. Repeat four times to maximum.
To simultaneously relieve the tension in your neck and shoulders, face forward, turn your right ear towards your right shoulder, leaving your left arm hanging straight down to maximize the stretch. Keep for 20 to 60 seconds, then repeat up to four times on the left side.
The Long-Term Fix
Station the monitor of the computer directly in front of you— not angled to the side, which forces your neck into a distressing position. If you’re on the phone frequently, use a headset instead of cradling the phone between your ear and shoulder which can cause muscle strain, says NYU Langone Seaport Orthopaedics medical director Jeffrey A. Goldstein. Use a chair with adjustable armrests to form a 90-degree angle to your elbows.
Desk Job Danger #5: Tight Hips
How to Quickly Relieve Tension
To loosen tight hip flexors, try doing a stretch. Kneel on your left knee— like you’re about to propose to somebody— and bring your right foot forward at a 90-degree angle with your right knee bent. Move your pelvis forward, bend your knee at the front and tuck down your butt until you reach a deeper stretch in the left hip. Hold back 30 seconds. Switch your legs on.
The Long-Term Fix
Stand up from your desk at regular intervals to give your muscles a break and increase circulation. “In a perfect world, get up from your desk every 20 to 30 minutes,” Aguilar says. “Your body has to move.”
You should be able to help yourself feel good at work-or at least make your body more relaxed-by talking to your doctor and trying out some of these moves.
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