Beachealth

Most postural issues are caused from everyday habits from everyday activities such as sitting in office chairs, staring at a computer, prolonged use on your mobile phone, especially smart phones and iphones, carrying a purse or bag over your shoulder, driving and repetitive physical activities.

If your job involves prolonged sitting, like so many individuals that work in an office space or corporate environment, you may experience the pain and discomfort caused by poor posture.

Prolonged sitting for desk work can lead to muscular and skeletal imbalances. Your skeletal system gets used to the hours of sitting in an unnatural position, wreaking havoc on your body, posture, and causing more serious long-term issues. Continuous daily sitting affects posture and can also cause physical pain, strain, and discomfort.

Here are some basic tips to improve posture and ergonomics, especially for people who sit for most of most of the day.

  • Sit up straight
  • Align the ears, shoulders, and hips in one vertical line.
  • Sitting in the one position for a prolonged period of time, even a good one, can be tiring. Shifting forward to the edge of the seat with a straight back and alternating with the support of the chair can help add some variety.
  • Take regular breaks and get up and move around. Get up every half hour for two minutes to stand, walk or stretch.

Improve your set up at your desk:

  • Head is level and inline with the torso. Beware not to draw the head forward towards the computer screen as this can put a lot of stress on the neck.
  • Shoulders are relaxed, not shrugged, and upper arms hang normally at the side of the body.
  • Hands, wrists, and forearms are straight, inline and roughly parallel to the floor.
  • Keep your elbows close to the body, ideally at your sides, this will take stress off the back of your shoulders and your mid back.
  • Keep your back upright and not slouched.
  • Keep the knees and hips at the same height
  • Keep your feet on the ground and if you cannot touch the ground use an elevated footrest.

If you are still finding that you are having a very hard to sitting for long periods of time, talk to your HR to request a sit stand desk. A simple and affordable sit stand desk, such as veridesk, can be a good solution.

Try to keep an active lifestyle. This can help reduce the impact of poor posture on your skeletal system and improve overall health. Try to incorporate more physical activities into your routine, such as going for a walk with your pet or taking advantage of a gym membership. Being active doesn’t necessarily have to mean an intense gym workout or marathon, although those are great too. It can be as simple as taking some time to stretch and do low impact yoga or taking a walk in your neighbourhood or local park.

Try these simple tips and you will notice a difference. If you are still experiencing pain, such as neck or back pain, feel free to call us on (416) 546-4887 to speak to one of our osteopathic manual practitioners or book online at beachclinic.janeapp.com and we can help you become pain free.