Tips and Tricks for Working From Home
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, reported back pain has increased 41%, and to be totally honest with you, we’re not surprised!
If you’re working from home, you might find that your makeshift office is a literal pain in the back.
Many people don’t have access to ergonomic office chairs and working for extended periods of time using your dining room chair, hunched over the coffee table or even from bed is terrible for your back and neck. Not to mention, the 10-minute walk at lunch to get a sandwich or the 20-minute walk from the subway presented great opportunities to stretch your legs and get some time away from your desk. Unfortunately, when you’re working from home often it’s just a 10 second walk to the fridge or the kettle.
With this in mind, you need to be extra cognizant of your posture and routine, so that you can combat the stress and strain that comes from working in a compromised position.
Luckily for you, we’ve got some great working from home tips that you can adopt immediately.
Here’s how to stay comfortable and avoid back pain while you work remotely for the foreseeable future.
Change your posture often
It’s crucial that you vary your posture throughout the day, because sitting in the same position or chair all day can lead to back, neck and shoulder pain. We recommend starting your day at your desk/kitchen table, after an hour move into a standing position and work for a period of time. It’s best to alternate every hour or so and if you can complete your work while standing your back will thank you.
Take regular breaks
It’s easy to fall into the trap of sitting all day, hunched over our computer when working from home. Don’t forget that walking to your co-worker’s desk, walking from the car-park/subway, walking to get a sandwich at lunch are very small activities but make a huge difference in your well-being.
Where possible, take a short walk around the block every couple of hours. If this isn’t possible, take a short walk around the house. Focus on standing tall and keeping your shoulders back.
Taking a break may seem insignificant but it is vitally important to avoid back pain, and will increase your productivity in the long run.
Put a pillow on your seat
Placing a thin pillow underneath your seat can go a long way to making an ordinary chair a lot more comfortable. If you don’t have a pillow, you can use a soft towel that will make that old dining chair feel a lot more comfortable.
Stretch
Staying seated for long periods of time shortens your hip flexors and compresses your vertebrae leading to debilitating back pain.
Elevate your laptop
Laptops are never going to be ergonomically good, because the monitor is either going to be too low or the keyboard is going to be too high.
Ideally, the top of your monitor should be just below eye level, so you don’t have to strain your neck to read. If you’re working on a reading-intensive task, prop your laptop up on objects (like a stack of books or shoeboxes) so it’s eye-level. When you need to type, you can lower it to a level that allows your arms to be bent at 90-degree angles.
Watch your posture
It’s difficult to maintain good posture while spending 8-12 hours at a desk. Often, you’ll try for 5-10 minutes but it isn’t long before your shoulders round, your head tilts forward and old habits creep in.