If you’ve been spending 8 hours a day working from a poor set up, you’ve probably experienced some back ache or neck aches and pains. If working from home is the new normal for you, then it’s going to pay off to get your set up optimised before you get too many issues. So how do you correctly set up your home working space to be productive an avoid pain?
Luckily, there’s lots of things you can do to make your set up easier on your neck and back. So, your comfier and get your work done without neck ache distracting you.
The Fundamentals Of Ergonomics, To Boost Your Wellness
Firstly, you might be doing a lot less steps if you’re working from home, this can be a disaster for your health down the road. You’ll increase the risk of back and neck pain and long-term health conditions like heart disease and diabetes. Getting enough movement in is vital to your wellness. And it’s super easy to add in a 15 minute walk around the block before during or after work.
More and more of us are working from home, which is great for getting out of bed a little bit later and catching up with life admin during the week like putting the washing on. But working from home can be tricky set up wise.
“Your back gets nutrition through movement, when you’re uncomfortable from being in the one spot too long, that’s your bodies natural way of trying to make you move”
How Should I Sit At My Desk To Prevent Shoulder Pain?
A great way to take strain off your shoulder is to have things in comfortable range, so you’re not over-reaching all day with your already sore shoulder constantly aggravating it.
You can use a narrow keyboard without a number pad, so that way the mouse is nice and close, removing a lot of strain from your neck and shoulder.
How should I sit at my desk to prevent neck pain?
Don’t let yourself get sucked into the screen. There is lots of things that will make a difference but here’s the top 2.
Monitor height
The top of the screen should be about eye level. If you’re working from a laptop it’s best to use a laptop stand that will hold the laptop up and put the screen at the ideal height. You can then use a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. This simple tip will take a load of pressure off your neck.
Sort out your lower back position to save your neck
Your spine is “S” shaped, a bigger curve at the bottom will lead to a bigger curve higher up to compensate. So, if your lower back is in a poor position your neck will be too. So, sit your bum into the back corner of the seat to ensure your lower back is in a decent position.
How should you sit at your desk to prevent wrist pain?
It’s tempting to tilt your keyboard upwards when you find the little adjustments at the back. It’s usually best not to do this as it can increase the strain on your wrist.
If you’ve struggled with your wrist long term you can also get a more ergonomic mouse to take some of the strain off your wrist. If you’re getting pins and needles you need an assessment asap.
Getting free from pain
How Can I Work At A Desk Without Pain?
What Should You Do If Your Desk And Chair Are Uncomfortable?
Maybe you don’t have a home office and you’re one of the many people working from the kitchen table at home. And it’s not the right height and you don’t want a computer chair at the kitchen table.
Lets focus on what you can do. You can mix up your position, so you use the kitchen counter as a standing desk for little bursts throughout the day as the change is good to give your body a rest.
How can I make my home office more ergonomic?
- Sort out glare on your screen by adjusting your monitor placement or using blinds, don’t strain your eyes long term.
- Short breaks allow your eyes to relax
- Some monitors have an eye care mode that doesn’t flicker as much as can be easier on your eyes.
- If you’re looking at detailed items use a reasonable quality monitor, so it has an easy-to-read screen. This can make work much easier on your eyes and help you avoid headaches.
- Have the top of your screen about eye level
- Have your elbows just below 90 degrees to the desk
- Avoid the temptation to sit like froggy for too long
Can Sitting At A Desk All Day Cause Shoulder/ Neck Pain?
People have stiff necks and backs and shoulders for all sorts of reasons from working at a desk, to stress, to old injuries or maybe just old age has caused you to stiffen up.
Very often it a little of each and over time that builds up and then things like working at a desk for 8 hours a day easily overloads some underlying issue.
If you want to find out what’s wrong and get things assessed then going to a good physio is your best option.
How To Cure Neck Pain Fast Using Massage
The final tip to get on top of your neck issue to is to get a massage to loosen and stretch tight and overworked neck muscles that are a part of the problem and contributing to the neck pain you’re suffering with. Massage is a great way to speed up the recovery time from a neck strain.
It’s best to seek professional help, to assess the area and find out what’s wrong. Sure, its tempting to ask someone at home to dig into your neck pain. But they don’t know what’s wrong and what’s going to make your pain better or worse. It’s best to seek professional help, find out what’s wrong, and know what’s safe to do and make a plan to get on top of your pain.
When Is Best To Seek Help For Your Neck Pain
Some stresses on your neck will settle within a few days, and if this happens as a one off then there’s probably no need to worry.
However, if your discomfort doesn’t resolve, or maybe even slowly gets more stiff and painful, or becomes recurrent, then it’s likely that you will need some expert help to cure neck pain. And we can work out how much of your pain if from postural issues and how much is from other causes.
If you are in the “suffered with neck pain for weeks, and it’s not getting any better” group, then our team are here to help.
At Glossop Physio we have a clinic based in the heart of Glossop on Norfolk Square, and we offer free physiotherapy consultations, where you get to sit down with a member of our team. Get answers to the questions you have and find out what can be done to help you move and feel better.
When you are ready just give us a call on 07517421800 to organise your free consultation. Or if you like to do things online you can start organising your free consultation by filling out our webform Click Here
Other Free Resources for Your Pain
Click Here To Read – The benefits of activity and exercise for elderly people who want to keep active
Click Here To Read – How To Cure Neck Pain
On social media? Follow us on Facebook or Instagram
