Better Posture Better Back

The average UK office worker spends almost 1,700 hours a year in front of their computer screen (The Independent). Poor sitting posture is one of the main factors in the development of neck and shoulder pain as well as symptoms in the arm such as pain, pins and needles and numbness.

By following some of these simple guidelines you can reduce the loading on your body and thereby increase your comfort levels at work.

Sit right back in your chair – Place your bottom right back into the seat, keeping your back in contact with the back of the chair. Relax your trunk and let the chair do the work of sitting.

Keep your elbows just in front of your shoulders – there’s no need to have your arms outstretched to reach the keyboard. Simply move the keyboard closer to you or bring your chair closer in to the desk.

Make sure your shoulders are relaxed – Try to avoid tensing the shoulders when keying

Get a separate monitor – if you are using a laptop for an extended period of time the screen size will be small, hard to read the text and positioned too low. This will tend to draw you forwards, away from the back of the chair. A good solution is a separate monitor that can be placed nearer eye level.

– Sarah