How to avoid back pain at the office

Regardless of how much you love your job, chances are that if you spend most of your day at a desk, you have experienced back pain related to sitting at a computer all day. What can you do to ensure a more comfortable and spine-friendly day? Here are a few things you should be doing every day to eliminate office related back pain.

To start with, practicing correct posture is critical in eliminating back pain. It’s important to remind yourself to sit up straight and not lean forward to see the keyboard or computer screen. You may even ask a co-worker to tell you when you’re slouching.

But more than just acknowledging that you have bad posture is needed to correct the problem correctly. In fact, your environment can have a lot to do with your posture. For example, the proper chair will change your position dramatically. When standing, the seat of your chair should be just below your kneecaps, and the backrest should fit in the hollow of your back. When sitting, your knees should be slightly below your hips and feet flat on the floor. Your buttocks should be flat in the seat and touching the back of the chair. Then concentrate on sitting with your back straight and your shoulders back. If you need help finding the right office chair for your body, your chiropractor may be able to suggest a style that’s best for you.

The position of your computer will also play a severe role in back pain. It should be set directly in front about an arm’s length away. As far as your keyboard goes, you should be able to rest your wrists on the gap between the keyboard and the edge of the desk. If you need extra support to keep your wrists straight, look into buying a wrist-rest. Having the proper keyboard position will prevent not only back pain but also carpal-tunnel syndrome. The same goes for your mouse and mouse pad.

After your desk area is all set up, it is still vital that you get up from your desk every half hour. Take this time to stretch and move about, so your back doesn’t get stiff. It’s also a good time to hydrate. Hydrated muscles are happy muscles.

You don’t have to lose joy in your job because of back pain. Just follow these simple suggestions, and you’ll experience the back pain begin to disappear.