Author: Todd Bowen

I’d like to share my background and how I got here. I want to explain why I’m a credible source for computer posture correction. This way, you can decide whether or not to listen to my story. You’re probably here because you’re interested in topics like neck pain relief, preventing carpal tunnel, optimal sitting position, and sit-stand desk benefits. If so, I think my story will resonate with you.

I graduated in 2001 with a degree in Information Technology. I’ve been doing computer work ever since. Of all the information technology classes I took, computer ergonomics was the most interesting to me. This is mainly because of my athletic background. My main sports were basketball, baseball, and beach volleyball. I also enjoy lifting weights and other exercise.

In 2011, my body was broken and my posture was terrible. I’d had enough. I decided to start my journey in computer posture correction. I’d been sitting at a computer with poor posture for 10 years at that point. I began to implement as many healthy sitting habits into my life as I could. So today, I’m sharing some of my favorite computer desk posture tips.

Continue reading Best Posture for Computer Work

I started cold plunging in January of 2023. There are many health benefits I’ve gotten from it. The main one: cold plunging has helped improve my blood flow. When my blood flow is improved, my muscle pain is decreased. My muscle soreness is decreased. My muscle recovery is quicker. It’s one of my favorite home remedies for reducing pain and muscle tension. All these health benefits have helped me improve posture at my computer.

Setting up a cold plunge can get expensive and time consuming. I wanted to do it multiple times a week. So, I needed to be creative logistically.

Continue reading How to Cold Plunge on a Budget

Back in 2011, I didn’t realize my knee pain was caused by sitting at a computer for long periods of time. I thought it was from overtraining. Besides, the first time I ever felt knee pain was after a long run. But the pain that day was the effect of my problem. Running was a variable that made the knee pain worse. However, the cause of the knee pain was repetitive strain from sitting at a computer for long periods of time.

Why does sitting at a computer cause knee pain?

As soon as I felt knee pain, I made an appointment with a massage therapist. He was a really sharp guy. He was also a CrossFit coach, which is the main training method I was doing back then.

I told him my knees hurt, but I wasn’t sure why. He explained to me that pain and inflammation in a joint is often caused by a tight muscle somewhere else. Muscles are attached to tendons. Tendons are attached to bones. Often at a joint, like a knee.

For example: the quadriceps, hamstrings, IT bands, and calves all attach to tendons at the knee. When these muscles get tight, we might feel muscle tension. But it didn’t really hurt in the muscle for me. It just felt tight. The problem is, tight muscles pull extra hard on tendons, which get overextended easily. These tendons at the knee are where we’re more likely to feel the pain first.

Continue reading Why Does Sitting at a Computer Cause Knee Pain?

A full-time office worker hits a button on the keyboard thousands of times per day.  With every keystroke we make, the muscles in our hands, and tendons in our fingers, are doing the exact opposite of what builds a strong grip. 

But why does this happen? 

You would think using our hands and fingers to type all day would make our grip stronger. 

But these are the reasons why typing weakened my grip strength…

Continue reading Why does typing weaken grip strength?

The most common work-related disability is back pain caused by sitting at a computer with poor posture. There are many reasons how this happens. However, all of them can be described under one term: repetitive strain injuries. To understand how to improve your poor posture and decrease your pain, it’s very important to understand what a repetitive strain injury is first.

Also known as RSI, repetitive strain injuries cause pain or impairment of muscles or tendons when they have been used over and over for long periods of time. Sitting at a computer with poor posture puts a huge amount of stress on a body. When in that poor posture for extended periods of time every day, repetitive strain injuries become a painful, chronic work-related disability.

Continue reading Can Sitting at a Computer Cause Back Pain?

Lower back pain can be a mysterious, nagging issue for those of us who sit at a computer for long periods of time. I’ve dealt with it a lot over the years. Most of the time, it was caused by repetitive strain of my lower back muscles that were overextended. The question isn’t necessarily, “What’s wrong with my lower back?” But more accurately, “How is my poor computer posture causing this lower back pain?” There is a cause and effect for everything. In this case, lower back pain is the effect, not the cause.

Common causes of lower back pain often don’t originate in the lower back. Improper sitting posture can affect or trigger lower back pain. Maintaining a neutral spine is very important. When we lose the lumbar curve, it overextends the muscles, also putting a lot of pressure on the spinal cord. Having our monitor too low can also cause lower back pain. Holding internal shoulder rotation for long periods of time can also cause us to slouch forward, setting off a chain reaction of bad habits down to the lower back. Other common posture mistakes are incorrect desk height, chair height, and foot position.

Nothing on my website is medical advice. It’s for informational purposes only. It’s not my intention to replace the need for physical therapy. I simply share my experience, what has worked for me, and what hasn’t. I talk about the poor posture mistakes I’ve fixed and the good postural habits I’ve learned. Also, I talk about things I’ve learned in pain relief and pain management. It’s important to consult a professional healthcare provider if the pain persists or when it happens suddenly. Also, consult them for medical advice before performing any of the methods in this article.

Continue reading 5 Ways to Relieve Lower Back Pain

The majority of Americans are required to sit for 40 hours or more every week. Prolonged sitting in a static position, with incorrect posture, can cause long term and short term effects. Not everyone has the luxury of having an ergonomic office chair. But there are ways to sit comfortably and properly. These good sitting posture habits can help prevent some of the negative effects of a prolonged sitting position.

How To Sit Comfortably In An Office Chair

How to adjust an office chair

Everyone has different variables when it comes to ergonomic sitting posture. Some of them include arm’s length, torso height, leg length, height of desk, height of your chair, etc. There’s no one way to describe how to sit properly in an office chair. It’s up to each of us to take our own variables into consideration when finding a comfortable sitting position. But with that said, here are 3 main rules I follow to adjust an office chair. These can apply to anyone.

My feet are flat on the floor

I never want an office chair too high so that you can’t rest your feet flat on the floor. You may have to sit at a very high desk, which causes you to raise your chair so much that your feet don’t touch the floor. In this case, a footrest would work just as well. Just make sure your feet are flat on the footrest.

Continue reading How to Sit Comfortably in an Office Chair

Ergonomics means the “the study of people’s efficiency in their working environment” (definition credit Google/Oxford Languages). When it comes to working on a laptop, ergonomics means posture. It also means requiring good habits from multiple indirect variables. These variables can mean sleep quality, breathing, and hydration. Click on any of those if you’d like to take learn ergonomic tips about each subtopic. All of them are related to how good (or bad) our computer posture is.

Using a laptop is very different from using a desktop. Laptops have a very compact design. My laptop screen, laptop keyboard and mouse are all within 13 inches of each other. Having to focus my eye level on my laptop screen, plus my hands on the keyboard and mouse, creates awkward postures. Factor in that we are in this vulnerable position for a long period of time, it exponentially increases the risk of injury. Laptops are not designed for all-day use.

Proper laptop ergonomics can help decrease the strain and pressure on your neck and back. Any time I feel physical pain, my work productivity and mental clarity suffer. Following a few ergonomic tips can help improve your productivity and clarity.

Continue reading Ergonomic Tips For Laptop Users

My definition of posture is the position someone holds their body in. Posture is a constant variable in our lives. The importance of good posture becomes much greater when we are working in a position for an extended period of time. Repetitive strain and overuse injuries are the enemy. Not necessarily the position we are sitting or standing in. A key variable in how to maintain good posture is to change the position we are working in multiple times throughout the day.

Having a neutral spine is another key variable to improve your posture. The old advice of “stand tall”, or “sit up straight”, is actually more complex than that. Sitting or standing “too tall” can possibly lead to poor posture. The spine isn’t straight. It has natural curves. When we properly sit and stand up straight, the spine is curved, which is often referred to as a neutral spine. Sometimes I refer to it as a balanced spine, that isn’t compressed or overextended.

Bad posture affects my confidence, pain levels, and overall health.

Proper posture looks like the combination of balance and stability. When working on a computer for long periods of time, I like to compare myself to a tree. Strong, but also able to move slightly, like a tree blowing in the wind. Not strong and stiff all day long, like a brick building. This would lead to poor posture from repetitive strain and overuse injuries.

Continue reading How Can Posture Affect Your Health

Having good posture is very important to me. Repetitive strain injuries are still possible while we hold this position of good posture. Working in any one position for extended periods of time can lead to painful overuse injuries.

But, as soon as we have poor posture, our risk of injury exponentially increases. These common postural problems include pain, tension, lack of energy, lack of focus, and lack of productivity. Poor posture can shift our center of gravity forward and overload our muscles and connective tissues. Reaching forward to use a keyboard and mouse makes us completely forget we have a back rest on our chair. We slouch forward, causing us to lose the natural curves in our spine. When we hold this position for 8 hours a day, it can cause chronic back, neck and shoulder pain.

Continue reading How to Improve Neck and Back Posture

Standing desks have become very popular in recent years. When sitting all day, I would naturally slouch forward. This caused some spinal disc degeneration in my back. I’ve since changed my desk setup. It’s adjustable and can go between sitting and standing throughout the day. Working at a standing desk has decreased my back pain significantly. I don’t slouch forward anymore, which has put a pause on my spinal disc degeneration.

I also feel generally better while using a standing desk. I’m at much less risk of weight gain, compared to when I was sitting all day. It has also helped improve my mood, energy levels, work productivity, and mental clarity.

When I shifted from a regular desk to a standing desk, it took some getting used to. Today, I am dedicating this article to show how I got used to working at a standing desk and how to get the most out of its benefits.

Continue reading How To Get Used To A Standing Desk

Correct posture is incredibly important when it comes to sitting and standing at a computer desk. Poor posture doesn’t only affect our physical health. It also affects our confidence, mental health, blood flow, nerve health, and more. The first step toward injury prevention is to improve your posture.

Many people don’t think twice about their bad posture. They have no idea they may be contributing to future back pain, postural stress, muscle fatigue, rounded shoulders and more.

So, today I’m sharing my ultimate guide to good posture. By trying these tips, you could noticeably improve your posture and feel the difference too. I sat at a computer desk with poor posture for many years. One day, I took accountability for my bad posture and started implementing as many small, correct posture habits as I could.

Continue reading Guide To Good Posture

Posture is “the position in which someone holds their body when standing or sitting” (definition credit: Google and Oxford Languages). Having good posture includes many different variables and steps in the process. I’ve learned the most important variable to having good posture means having a balanced, neutral spine. When sitting for long periods of time, 2 of the most common posture mistakes I suffered from affected me the most. These 2 posture mistakes are sitting with a compressed spine and sitting with an overextended spine.

Bad posture used to affect my physical appearance and my self-confidence. The posture mistakes I made while sitting at a computer were also having long term effects on me 24 hours a day. Sitting at a computer for long periods of time can take a heavy toll on us physically and mentally. Improving your posture can help improve overall health and well-being. Starting my good posture journey has prevented muscle tension, joint strains, back pain, and many other physical injuries. The 2 most common posture mistakes can easily be corrected by quick posture fixes.

Continue reading Computer Posture Mistakes and Fixes

Sitting for prolonged hours used to put a lot of pressure on my back muscles and spinal discs. This pressure resulted in stubborn lower back pain. This pain was often debilitating. It was painful both when I was in a sitting position and when I was away from my desk. My improper sitting posture was the main variable worsening the pain.

When in a sitting position for prolonged periods, the first instinct people tend to have is slouching forward. We reach for that keyboard and mouse. Everything goes downhill from there. Slouching can strain the spinal discs and overstretch the ligaments.

Years ago, my physical therapist was hitting me in the head for a $50 copay thrice a week. It wasn’t helping. I had to figure out ways to improve my sitting position during the time I was outside of the physical therapist’s office.

Simply “sitting up straight” wasn’t enough to relieve this pain. I had to take an intentional, yet simplified approach. There are many ways to avoid lower back pain and other back related injuries. This article talks about the 4 most helpful habits I implemented on how to sit properly to avoid lower back pain.

Continue reading How to Sit Properly to Avoid Lower Back Pain