Desk Healthy - Are you set up correctly?
Shoulder pain? Stiff back? Tight hips? Achy neck? Headaches? Sore glutes?
Sound familiar?
Whether you’re an experienced desk user, or a casual desk jockey it’s likely you’ve experienced the symptoms of “desk posture”. Sitting has been a taboo subject for allied health professionals in recent times, and while we’d like to reduce the amount of time we spend sitting, it’s not always easy to control. What we can control however, is what we do during those sedentary periods spent at our desks.
Keep Moving
Believe it or not, the best way to avoid those nasty aches and pains is to keep active at your desk. People who are more static in their sitting behaviour are more likely to experience these aches and pains than people who incorporate dynamic sitting behaviours like micro-movements and regular postural shifts. Chronic low back pain is often associated with fear of movement which limits our day-to-day activities both in and out of the workplace.
The best way to combat this pain is with a few easy desk exercises which you can do in the comfort of your office without any productivity loss!
Gentle spinal rotations: Turn your whole body around as far as you can with your feet planted firmly on the ground, once you get as far as you can, take a deep breath in and out. Have a go on the other side, alternating from side to side at least three times.
Neck rolls: Roll your neck around in a clockwise direction for 5 seconds, then go back the other way for another 5 seconds.
Pelvis rolls: When sitting at your desk, imagine you’re using a hula-hoop. Make big wide circles incorporating your lower back. Go one way and then the other for about 10 seconds each.
Toe taps: Sit forward on your chair for this one. Start with your knees at 90 degrees and with one foot at a time, reach to all the major directions of the compass: North, South, East and West. Mix up the order every time. Do for about 20 seconds on each leg.
Incidental exercises: These are a collection of ways to keep you moving while still being productive. If it gets you up and moving, you’re doing it right!
Move your bin away from your desk, stand up and walk to a communal bin.
Use a smaller water glass and refill it more frequently.
Print to the farthest printer, use it as an excuse to get up and move and say hi to coworkers.
Stuck on a thought? Walk around for a moment. Physical activity promotes thinking and memory and so does interacting with our environment.
Have a Good Desk Setup
One of the pitfalls a lot of us run into is not setting our desk up well, which is ultimately setting ourselves up for pain and discomfort. Here are some simple tricks to set you and your desk up for success.
Chair Setup:
Tilt your chair about 10-15 degrees back from vertical, this allows the natural curvature of your spine to be in full contact with the back-rest.
Have a fist sized gap between the front of the seat and the back of your calves.
Have your knees at approximately right angles with both feet firmly on the ground.
Adjust your lumbar support so it sits snugly under your lowest ribs.
Sit-to-stand desks are a great way to mix up the prolonged sitting times if you have them available.
Computer Setup:
Set everything up centrally. This means your keyboard and monitor directly in front with your mouse as close to the keyboard as possible on your dominant side.
Have your monitor at approximately arm’s length.
When looking straight forward, your eyes should be in contact with the upper third of your monitor.
Tips and Tricks:
Using a phone regularly? Keep it close, avoid reaching to awkward areas of the desk for long periods of time.
Swivel in your seat. Rather than just turning your head, turn your entire chair and body to avoid neck and shoulder pain.
Keep your important things close. Anything you find yourself using regularly like pens and notepads or a diary should be in close reach from your neutral position. Things you aren’t using often can sit a little further away.
Recognise Counterproductive Work Patterns
Do you carry your stress in your body? Do you find yourself feeling sluggish and foggy in your head? Chances are you probably aren’t being as effective as you could be and it’s probably time to take a break. Being more active can help improve productivity in the workplace [8], so when you feel like you’re foggy and counterproductive or stressed and overwhelmed it might be time to implement one of these strategies.
Have a 5 minute break: Walk around the office, go outside, make yourself a nutritious snack. Anything you feel is refreshing your brain is making you more productive for when you get back.
Meditate: Meditations can be as simple or as complex as you’d like them to be. A great place to start is either with the Smiling Minds mobile app or even just a simple YouTube search yields great results.
Ask for help: Struggling to work your head around something? Sometimes the best way to get more insight is through a different way of thinking, something you might not have considered yet.
References:
Zemp R, Fliesser M, Wippert P, Taylor W, Lorenzetti S. Occupational sitting behaviour and its relationship with back pain – A pilot study. Applied Ergonomics. 2016;56:84-91.
O'Keeffe M, Dankaerts W, O'Sullivan P, O'Sullivan L, O'Sullivan K. Specific flexion-related low back pain and sitting: comparison of seated discomfort on two different chairs. Ergonomics. 2013;56(4):650-658.
Bontrup C, Taylor W, Fliesser M, Visscher R, Green T, Wippert P et al. Low back pain and its relationship with sitting behaviour among sedentary office workers. Applied Ergonomics. 2019;81:102894.
Gurav R, Panhale V, Nahar S. Association of physical performance and fear-avoidance beliefs in adults with chronic low back pain. Annals of Medical and Health Sciences Research. 2016;6(6):375.
Krypotos A. Avoidance learning: a review of theoretical models and recent developments. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. 2015;9.
Ratey J, Loehr J. The positive impact of physical activity on cognition during adulthood: a review of underlying mechanisms, evidence and recommendations. Reviews in the Neurosciences. 2011;22(2).
Leisman G, Moustafa A, Shafir T. Thinking, Walking, Talking: Integratory Motor and Cognitive Brain Function. Frontiers in Public Health. 2016;4.
Puig-Ribera A, Bort-Roig J, Giné-Garriga M, González-Suárez A, Martínez-Lemos I, Fortuño J et al. Impact of a workplace ‘sit less, move more’ program on efficiency-related outcomes of office employees. BMC Public Health. 2017;17(1).