- Make sure you sit upright in your chair.
Choose a chair that supports good posture with back support. If your chair doesn’t have a support that allows you to sit straight up with your shoulders back and relaxed, try sitting at the edge of the chair to keep your back straight. This will help issues with lower back and leg pain. - Set your computer monitor
so that your eyes look at the middle of the screen, while you’re sitting up straight. This will allow for a more neutral position of your head while you work, and help to alleviate neck stiffness, shoulder pain, and headaches. - Set an alarm
to stand up at least every 30 minutes to 1 hour to stretch, drink some water, and engage your leg muscles. This helps with blood and nerve circulation to make sure your body keeps moving and doesn’t get stuck and cramp. Even if you don’t have time to walk around, standing up out of your chair, and stretching up to the ceiling for just a few seconds can help. - Stay Hydrated with pure water.
Drinking water has many upsides, but one obvious side effect is you’ll have to hit the bathroom more frequently. Try visiting one on the other side of the building or on a different floor to increase your time in motion. Bonus: Refill your water bottle from a water fountain that’s far away as well. - Eat elsewhere, not at your desk. If your favorite lunch joint is a quarter-mile away, that’s an extra half-mile you’ll walk daily. But even if you’re brown-bagging it, find a spot for a picnic and invite colleagues to join you.
- Take a walk. Walking helps bring blood and oxygen to your muscles and helps lower inflammation. Plus, movement helps your brain work better, helping you to be more efficient at work.
- Visit your colleague. If you need a quick answer to a question, it’s often as easy to walk to someone’s office as it is to email or call. Face-to-face conversations lower the risk of misinterpretation, too. If you work with people in different buildings, offer to come to visit them.
- Remove anything from your back pockets. A lot of people have gotten into the habit of keeping their wallets and cell phones in their back pockets when they’re sitting down. Outside of being uncomfortable in and of itself, this practice can also put an unnecessary strain on your buttocks, pelvis, and spine.
- Lifting heavy items the right way. Be careful to not go straight from sitting to lifting heavy items. When you do have to lift something, make sure you’re bending with your legs and keep heavy items close to the center of your body, to avoid straining your back and causing back and leg pain.
- Establish a stretching routine at home and at work. Stretching will keep you limber, keep good blood flow to your muscles and lubricate your joints. Stretching the hips and shoulders has shown to alleviate lower back and neck pain.
Stop Back Pain at Work From Slowing You Down!
There are millions of Americans suffering from back pain at work every day simply because they're not sitting properly or standing enough. If you have any questions let us know. And if you know anyone who is struggling with sitting all day at work, share this article with them so they can make some changes for the better.
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