Top tips to set up your home office properly to protect your spine.

If you are fortunate to still be working it is most likely now from home. Many of my patients have commented how they now realize just how well their desk was set up in their office. Now as they adopt to working with a computer on their lap while sitting on the couch they realize they are having many more aches and pains.

I am here to help! This week I\’ll cover things you can do to set up your work station at home to minimize the stress on your spine and body. As you will see there can be advantages to not being tied to your desk.

Ergonomics

Let\’s start with basic ergonomics. When ever you do anything, including working on a computer, you want to try to protect your neutral spinal posture. This is the natural position of your spine when you are relaxed and standing up.

If you are working on a computer at a desk you want to start with a supportive chair that allows you to sit up right and has good lumbar support. The lumbar support should fit in the small of your back at the lowest part of your spine. If your chair does not have lumbar support use a small pillow or cushion to give your lower back the support it needs.
After you are set up properly in your chair make sure your keyboard is set so your wrists are straight and at a natural angle. The monitor should be elevated so it is at eye level. You want to avoid having to look down at it. This flattens the normal curve in your spine and will strain the muscles of the neck and upper back.

If you are using a desk top computer you can stack books or boxes under the monitor to raise it. If you are using a laptop you should invest in a separate keyboard so you can have the keyboard where it is comfortable for your wrists and the monitor raised to protect your neck.

If you are on the phone use a headset. Holding the phone to your ear using your shoulder should be avoided. Another option is to just use speaker phone. You don\’t have to worry about disturbing your office mates when working from home. Although you may have to worry about everyone on your call hearing one of your children yell \”watch this!\” to his sibling followed by much yelling and crying which you know have to investigate.

Mix it up

Now that you have the basics the key is to change it up periodically. Even when you are set up great ergonomically, using the tips above, your spine and muscles are still shut down and not active. Our body is designed to move not sit.

One of my favorite ways to do this is to swap out your office chair for an exercise ball. This allows you to still use your work station but by sitting on the ball you are using the fine motor control muscles of your spine to sit upright. If you shut down and relax on the ball you\’ll fall off. You\’re also going off if your cat decides to sharpen his claws on it while your working. That\’s why you want to make sure the one you get is an anti burst type so it lets the air out slowly if popped.

Get up, stand up

Many of my patients use a standing desk at the office. This is a great way to get out of the chair and use your body while working. When working from home you don\’t need to invest in a standing desk. Take your computer to the kitchen counter. Instant standing desk. You can also just stack books or boxes at whatever desk or kitchen table you are sitting at to bring it to the height you need to stand instead. Another benefit of working from home is you can use whatever is around to modify your workstation. No need to put in a request to HR or worry that your nosy office mate is going to complain you took all the file boxes and are trying to build a fort in your office.

Take movement breaks

I\’ll say it again the body is designed to move not sit. On a conference call? Get up and walk around while listening to your boss explain how to do what you are already doing for the 12th time.

Step away from your computer and do a few simple movement exercises. Squats are great. They activate many different muscle groups. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Keeping your spine straight, bend at the hips and knees until your knees are at a 90 degree angle. Keep your head up and your shoulders back. Push your butt back as you bend your legs like you are going to sit in a chair. Do a set of 5 or 10 every hour just to get up and move.

A common issue with a lot of computer use is all of the action is happening in front of us. We are reaching forward to use the keyboard and mouse. This causes the muscles in the front of our torso to be tight and the muscles of the back are stretched out.

Here is a good stretch to counter this. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and in a upright natural stance. Put your hands behind your back and grab one hand over the other with the palms facing down. Draw your shoulders back and down tensing the muscles between your shoulder blades. Hold this position for a count of 10 then relax. Do sets of 5 to 10 throughout the day.

Working from home can be challenging but it does give you more freedom to mix it up and incorporate some basic movement patterns throughout the day.