Are you working from home in light of this pandemic?
Are you having neck pain or lower back pain?
A comfortable workspace can help you feel your best. Good posture promotes muscles to work more efficiently, allowing the body to use less energy and, therefore, preventing muscle fatigue. Proper workplace ergonomics can help prevent muscle strain, overuse disorders, and even back and muscular pain.
What is Ergonomics?
Ergonomics means matching the job to the worker and the product to the user. For computer and mouse-intensive jobs, this means the right workstation is critical. These jobs require workers to spend countless hours in front of computers while barely ever-changing positions. This is a recipe for injury.
However, if you sit behind a desk for hours at a time, you are not doomed to a lifetime of neck and back pain or sore wrists and fingers. Proper office ergonomics — including correct chair height, adequate equipment spacing, and good desk posture — can help you and your joints stay comfortable at work.
Why does my back hurt?
According to the Journal for the American Medical Association, deviations in the body’s center of gravity (poor posture) have resulted in intestinal problems, hemorrhoids, varicose veins, osteoporosis, hip, and foot deformities, poor health, decreased quality of life, and a shortened life span. At Divine Spine Yorba Linda, we specialize in the treatment of posture issues and have successfully helped numerous individuals including children correct their posture. Our computerized adjustment system gently restores motion, corrects alignment without any twisting or popping of the spine. We also utilize specific exercises and stretches to help support proper posture and create stability. Are you having lower back pain?
Ergonomic Sitting
Your monitor should be an arm’s length away and the center of the screen should be at eye level. Your wrists should be straight with your hands at or below elbow-level. At elbow-level would mean forming a 90-degree angle with your arm. Similarly, your knees should be level with your hips; keeping them at a 90- to 110-degree angle. You may need to adjust your chair height. Your feet should be flat on the ground when sitting. An ergonomic chair should also support your spinal curves.
Proper Mouse Handling
You want to keep your mouse within easy reaching distance so as not to risk a strain. It should be on the same level as your keyboard. Don’t move the mouse with just your wrist, instead use your entire arm and shoulder. You don’t want to tense your muscles, so hold the mouse loosely and keep your wrist relaxed. Remove your hand from the mouse at least several times an hour so you can move your wrists, arms, and shoulders.
Painful Consequences, Real Solutions
Many of us spend the majority of our day at a desk. Those working at home because of COVID-19 may find their home work stations are less than ergonomically ideal. The strain and stress a poor work setup can have on your body may result in injury, muscle spasm, or tension. Physical stress, in addition to emotional stress, pulls vertebrae and other bones out of proper alignment causing subluxations. Subluxation is a partial abnormal separation of the articular surfaces of a joint that causes the nervous system to malfunction. This can result in nerve pain and/or tissue and organ malfunction. Simply put, a healthy spine equals a healthy nervous system. This is why proper spinal alignment is key to maximizing the human genetic potential of health, healing, and performance.
Divine Spine Yorba Linda utilizes the most advanced treatment technology to restore proper posture. If you are suffering from the various symptoms caused by poor posture, call our office for a consultation to avoid permanent damage to your spine and central nervous system. Contact us HERE
If you are interested in learning more about the immune system and Covid-19 read our previous blog HERE
