Poor posture at a computer caused me to have stage 1 of spinal disc degeneration. My chiropractor told me it’s not reversible, but its progression could be stopped. I asked him what I had to do to stop it. He told me about the natural curves of the spine. And how the spine isn’t straight (from a side angle) when it’s in a neutral position.
This article is part 10 of my Computer Posture Key Terms series. The terms are (1) monitor height and (2) eye level. Notice how this user is constantly looking at a downward angle to view her laptop monitor screen. This mistake caused stage 1 spinal disc degeneration in my neck.
This article is for all the computer users struggling with neck shoulder pain (the 2 often combine into the same injury). I’ll talk about the ideal position I keep my monitor height and eye level, in order to maintain a healthy spine, for both sitting and standing at a computer.
I’m always trying different ways to improve my computer posture. But chiropractic care is something I’ve been taking advantage of for many years. I started going to a chiropractor back in 2005. In my experience, chiropractic care has definitely improved my computer posture.
Can chiropractic care improve your computer posture? Photo by vectorfusionart via Megapixl.
My body gets pulled out of alignment on a daily basis. In addition to sitting at a computer for hours a day, working at my standing desk also causes computer-related pain. Sitting isn’t the only enemy when it comes to computer ergonomics. Working in the same vulnerable position for long periods of time is what causes repetitive strain and overuse injuries, regardless if we’re sitting or standing.
When my muscles get overused and tight, they pull on the tendons that attach muscle to bones. The tendons then pull the bones out of alignment. Right now, I go to my chiropractor once a week on average, regardless if I’m in pain or not. I don’t plan on going once a week forever. That’s just the amount of chiropractic treatment that’s best for me right now with my current healing practice. The longer I put off going to a chiropractor, the more I suffer from muscle tension and pain.
Working at a desk for long periods of time, in the same exact position, is what causes repetitive strain and overuse injury. It doesn’t matter if I’m sitting or standing.
But in my opinion, sitting can be worse than standing. Prolonged sitting significantly affected my posture.
This article will talk about which is better for computer posture, a standing or sitting desk? Image by Reneshia via Megapixl
That’s why I switch working positions multiple times a day (between standing versus sitting). I use a special type of desk that is height-adjustable. This has helped me promote good posture, while still being productive.
I’m dedicating this post to talk about the differences between a standing desk and sitting.
In the past, there have been many ways I’ve described working in front of the computer for a long time.
It’s a cool concept.
It’s the worst.
It’s made me a lot of money.
It’s killing me slowly.
It’s convenient.
My brain is cooked.
F*ck this computer.
Working in front of a computer has caused me a number of physical issues. Including some of the most stubborn pain I’ve ever had. The injury I’m going to focus on in this article will be eye strain from a computer, and how you can prevent it. It’s also referred to as computer vision syndrome.
This article will talk about how to prevent eye strain from computer.
This is not to be confused with proper computer screen height. That’s a different topic, which causes neck strain. This article will be about eye strain. And keeping the computer screen a comfortable, safe distance away from our eyes.
Making small adjustments to our habits and environment can lead to large improvements over time. Especially when practiced consistently. This applies to preventing eye strain, as well as other possible health issues in the future.
In this article, I’m sharing a guide on how you can effectively reduce, better yet, avoid eye strain from computer screens.
Proper posture is an important variable of computer ergonomics. Poor posture, during prolonged sitting, exponentially increased my computer-related pain.
This article will talk about my favorite simple stretches to improve posture at work.
It’s easy to lose control of your posture when you’re at your desk. Staying in one position all day, focusing on your task at hand, even when you have correct posture, can still lead to repetitive strain and overuse injuries.
But poor posture can lead to more serious conditions in the future. Despite all the physical activity in my life, some of the worst injuries I’ve ever had were caused by sitting at a computer.
So today, I’m sharing a round up of simple stretches that can help improve posture at work. They’ve been helpful to me, regardless if the muscle tension was caused by a sitting or standing desk.
Proper posture is an important variable of computer ergonomics. It can get complex. But I try to explain my personal experience as simply as possible. That’s why I created my Computer Posture Checklist.
Having a proper posture for every activity can help prevent pain and discomfort. Especially when it comes to sitting position at a computer. But it’s not the position we are in, it’s the long periods of time that we’re holding that position.
It’s not uncommon to sit in front of a computer all day. Sitting at a computer is an endurance event every day we go to work. Because some of our muscles may be constantly deactivated all day long. But others are constantly, chronically overused. Understanding this is one of the most valuable lessons I learned in how to improve posture while sitting at computer.
In this article, I’m sharing a guide on how to have a proper sitting posture, as well as standing posture, when working in front of the computer. Because sitting doesn’t have to be the new smoking. The better my posture is, and the more positions I work in throughout the day, the less computer related pain I have.
Sitting in an office chair for long hours is an endurance event. Some muscles might be deactivated all day. But other muscles are constantly, chronically overused for 8 hours straight.
The term “ergonomic chairs” is subjective. A chair that works for one person, might not work well for the next. Because each person has a different body structure. And not all office chairs are built for every body type. We all have different heights, widths, limb lengths, etc.
Learning how to adjust an office chair is a valuable tool in my ergonomics practice.
Taking the time to adjust my office chair helps me feel comfortable while working. It turns my desk into an asset that promotes good posture as soon as I sit down.
We shouldn’t have to adjust our bodies to get out of poor posture. It should come easily and naturally to improve posture at computer.
In this article, I’m sharing a guide on how to properly adjust an office chair for ergonomics.
A high percentage of working Americans are at a computer all day. Think about a full-time office worker that works 8 hours a day. That equals over 2,000 hours per year.
This article will talk about how typing caused my wrist pain.
Repetitive tasks like writing, typing, and mouse clicking resulted in a lot of wrist pain for me. Another common posture mistake was the position of my wrists. Hands have a lot of muscles in them. But that means they also have a lot of tendons. In my experience, the smaller the muscles, the quicker this overuse leads to pain and repetitive strain injuries.
This pain would negatively impact my productivity, mood, and overall quality of life. It didn’t just hurt when I was at my desk. It hurt when I was lifting weights, playing sports, even when I got home at night.
The average office worker sits at their desk 8 hours each day. It doesn’t matter how much money we spend on an ergonomic chair and desk. Repetitive strain and overuse injuries can happen any time we sit for long periods of time.
The best ergonomic desk setup for neck and shoulder pain relief can be found by simply paying attention to a few ergonomic heights and placements.
That’s why I implement as many small, ergonomic improvements as possible. Because anytime we physically place our hands on something, and hold them there, our shoulders activate and our torso tends to slouch forward naturally.
This is why it’s not uncommon to experience neck and shoulder pain from sitting at a desk.
My computer desk used to be a problem that caused computer-related pain.
The ergonomic heights were incorrect.
I’d struggle all day to get my body in the correct position.
But now, I’ve turned it into an asset that promotes good posture (in less than a minute).
And my body has correct computer posture as soon as I sit down.
I used to always work off my laptop monitor like this user is doing. It caused chronic pain and excessive muscle tension in my neck. Now, I still use my laptop. But I work on an external monitor instead of my laptop monitor. Image by Andrey Popov via Megapixl.
How to Set Up Your Computer Desk for Better Posture (3 Simple Steps)
Want to know how to set up your computer desk for better posture?
Here are 3 steps I did (in less than a minute) to turn my desk into an ergonomic workstation:
I used to sit for 8 hours a day with my feet tucked under my chair.
It caused hamstring overuse, knee dysfunction, and 3 ankle surgeries.
Notice how this user has his feet pulled under his chair. This poor foot position is causing repetitive strain and overuse in his hamstrings. I made this computer posture mistake for years. Image by Inegvin via Megapixl
And now, good foot position at a computer is non-negotiable.
I used to think quick stretches would fix my computer posture.
But then I tried a different approach.
Reversing computer-related tension is a slow burn. My shoulders and hamstrings were 2 stubborn muscle groups. The internal rotation of my shoulders was excessive. My hamstrings were overused and shortened. This article talks about the 2 stretches that helped me fix those computer-related injuries.
And now I do long-duration stretches combined with breathwork.
I often sit in a somewhat reclined position at my desk. This gives my postural muscles a break, which constantly support my torso when I sit upright at my computer. Image by Andrey Popov via Megapixl.
Reclined Sitting Posture
Here’s how I avoid repetitive strain injuries at my desk:
Working in the same position for hours is. Even if our posture is good.
The secret: I switch positions before my body feels pain.
Sitting in the same exact position for long periods of time affects my computer posture and work productivity in a negative way. This article talks about how I fix that computer posture mistake.
Sitting on a chair, standing, sitting on a stool, reclining: all good.
I switch through these positions multiple times a day.
