Pain in the Neck? Change for Correct Sitting Posture!

Do you suffer from neck pain? Most possibly, it is related to poor sitting posture. Neck pain seems very common problem among office staff and those who undertake sedentary jobs. Sitting in the office chairs or even in the car seat for a rather long time is bad to our body. But we can hardly choose not to sit. Then how to avoid pain in the neck?

Prolonged sitting itself is not good to our health. We can take more rest during our work hours. We need to get better office chairs or the chairs with ergonomic design for more comfortable sitting. But most often, we may ignore the right sitting posture. Poor sitting posture may just overly stretch our spinal muscles or soft tissues. Prolonged overstretching of these structures will finally result in pain. Besides,when we feel uncomfortable after prolonged sitting, we may change our posture subconsciously, and sometimes the seemingly comfortable sitting posture is wrong and the potential pain may be even worse.

If we pay attention to right posture, changing position may take the stretch off our soft tissues and then the pain stops. This can just avoid lasting damage. Such pain purely caused by poor sitting posture may stop as long as we change how we sit. We can never ignore any sign of pain in the neck. In that way, we may continue the state of overstretching our soft tissues. Over the time, other structures may be affected and later we may feel pain in arms or legs.

People with sedentary jobs tend to develop lower back or neck pain and this has much to do with the fact that we sit with a rounded back for hours. It is time for correcting the poor sitting posture so as to avoid the progressively worsening pain.

The point in correct sitting posture lies in the curve in our lower back. To develop a right curve in the lower back or lordosis while sitting on a stool or slouch, we need to sitting up as much as possible to keep the curve inwards. We need to relax the lordosis strain and then our upper part of the spine will get improved. Make sure our head is not poking forwards. Tuck our chin in and pull back our shoulders.

It is sometimes not easy thing to keep a correct sitting posture for a long time without lower back support. We need some tools. We need ergonomic chairs when we sit in the office for working. We need car seats of ergonomic design for adequate support to our lower back.

Back Pain? Tips on How to Sit Comfortably & Ergonomically at a Computer

A lot of office staff suffers from back pain. There are some workplace injuries that could be avoided. For example, choose an ergonomic chair. Check out the right sitting posture.If you work in an office using a computer for prolonged time, here are some tips that may help you avoid some back injuries.

Chairs:

When you sit in the chair, just keep the hips as far back as they can go in the chair. Adjust the height of the chairs to ensure the feet are just placed on the floor, with the knees slightly lower than the hips. Then check out the back of the chair to make it 100°-110°reclined angle. Ensure the upper and lower back are well supported. Use some cushions or pillows for extra comfort. If there is an active back mechanism, make the best use of it. Adjust the armrests to make sure the shoulders are fully relaxed.

Then the keyboard. Usually, the keyboard tray has to offer the best positioning of input devices. The keyboard tray needs to best fit the mouse and allows leg clearance. If it has an adjustable height or tilt mechanism, that will be much better. Make sure the keyboard placed directly in front of the body. Adjust the keyboard to make the section of the keyboard that we often use centered with our body. Adjust its height till our shoulders can be relaxed and the elbows can be slighted open when we sit before the computer. Adjust the tilt of the keyboard via the tray mechanism or keyboard feet to make it away from us at a negative angle when we sit forward or upright. Use the wrist rests if necessary, but not over-use it. Place the pointer close to the keyboard.

Then it comes to other office supplies, such as screen, document or telephone.Improper positioning of these office stuff may just lead to poor sitting postures. Adjust the screen and documents to make sure our neck is in a neutral and relaxed position. Keep the screen directly centered in front of us. Make the top of the screen approximately 2-3”above seated eye level. Reduce glare by careful positioning of the screen. Adjust curtains or blinds as needed. Place the telephone within our reach.

Besides, ensure frequent breaks in the office. However perfect our working environment, prolonged and static sitting may lead to poor blood circulation and take a toll on our body.Take 1-2 minute stretch breaks every 20-30 minutes. Take a break for at least 5-10 minutes every hour. Always try to get away from the computer during lunch breaks.