Although it may seem like a “desk job,” working in an office can have a negative impact on our bodies.
If you spend most of your day sitting at a desk and looking at a computer, you know exactly what I’m talking about.
Your body may suffer if you spend all day sitting at a desk. This can cause problems such as lower back pain, wrist pain, a tight neck, or a lack of mobility.
How can we improve our office life?
We’ve found that the vast majority of desk jockeys spend their days sitting in chairs that are terrible for their posture, and as a result end up with serious back problems later on in life. At Nerd Fitness, we focus on helping our clients find chairs that are good for their posture and backs, and spend a lot of time helping them improve their posture while sitting. This is an area we spend a lot of time on because it’s so important for our clients’ health.
I feel like I have found the key to staying flexible even though I sit all day, and I want to share it with my fellow desk-workers!
We should discuss the issues we have with office life and try to come up with ways to solve them or work around them.
How to Set Up Your Workspace Properly
Your desk and chair should be at a height that allows you to type without having to scrunch your shoulders.
The vast majority of desk/chair combos in offices, hotel rooms, and coffee shops have the ratio of height to width wrong!
1. SET THE RIGHT CHAIR AND HEIGHT RATIO:
Sit in a chair that is the right height for you so that your shoulders are relaxed and pulled back.
The text is saying that if you are sitting tall and your forearms are parallel to the ground or lower, you don’t need to do anything else to be comfortable at your keyboard – you won’t have to reach up or shrug your shoulders.
I can tell when I work at a desk that’s not the right height for me. My shoulders hunch up, I get tense, and my neck bothers me for the next few days.
Put your desk at a height that is comfortable for you to work at!
2. PICK A GREAT CHAIR:
If you’re not standing at a desk, you likely spend more than a third of your time in a desk chair.
I purchased a Herman Miller chair a few years back in an effort to alleviate my back problems.
I have had a great experience with this product and my back does not hurt when sitting in it for long periods of time. However, I understand that it is very expensive.
You don’t need to spend a lot of money on a chair to be comfortable. You just need a chair that is adjustable so your feet can reach the floor, has a solid cushion, and supports your lower back.
If your company supplied you with a crappy office chair, you can ask for money to buy a better one. Explain that it will improve your productivity, then head to an office supply store and try out a bunch of chairs.
If they are unwilling to finance the upgrade, you should think about doing it yourself.
I found a chair on Amazon that has great reviews and is only $150.
3. SET YOUR MONITOR AND DESKTOP PROPERLY:
If you use a laptop, you spend most of your time hunched over a small keyboard and touchpad.
Almost everyone uses a desktop computer at some point, but not everyone has the right monitor set-up. If your monitor is too low, you might have to tilt your head down to see the screen, which can cause neck pain.
The ideal height for your monitor is the level at which you can look straight ahead at the screen, without having to adjust the angle of your neck.
I fixed my posture by raising my monitors so my eyes have to look up, instead of down.
I was able to stop slouching by simply changing the angle at which I was viewing the screen. I no longer have to hunch my shoulders for hours on end, and my spine, back, shoulders, and neck no longer hurt me.
You don’t need anything fancy. I even just added some books to get the right height:
- Laptop stand with with a copy of Tim Ferriss’s 4-Hour Chef and 4-Hour Body under it (after reading them)!
- Monitor stand
- Apple Wireless Keyboard
- R.A.T. 7 Gaming Mouse
- 3M Precise Mouse Pad
- Desktop background: Ori and the Blind Forest (Game of the year so far!)
There are many ways to change your setup without spending a lot of money. The solutions above were very effective and worth the money that was invested.
You can use whatever you have around to support your monitor.
If you use a laptop, having a separate keyboard and mouse can help you avoid feeling cramped and hunched over the laptop.
Staying limber in the office
Along with having a properly constructed office or cubicle, there are a few other things you can do to combat office-itis:
The most important thing to remember is to keep moving and not stay in the same position for long periods of time.
The best way to maintain good spinal health is to keep changing your posture throughout the day, for example by standing up or sitting down regularly, rather than staying in the same position for eight hours.
Just get your body moving. If you sit at a desk all day, it’s important to take breaks and move your body to stay healthy. Set a timer for every 20 minutes, and whenever it goes off, stand up and do something active. Even just a lap around the office or some simple stretches can make a big difference.
I use a program called focus booster that sends me a notification every 20 minutes to remind me to get up and move around, either by taking a lap around my apartment complex or by doing a quick stretch.
Own your office space
You do not need a standing desk, even though there is a lot of information online about the dangers of sitting all day.
I tend to stand while doing simple tasks like checking email or talking to Team NF, but I really have difficulty writing creatively while standing, so I’m almost ALWAYS seated when writing articles.
If you’re interested in a standing desk, we’ve already written an article about it on Nerd Fitness a few years back. Most of the ergonomic advice from the regular chair carries over.
Our environment affects who we are, and we can improve our chances of success by making small changes to our surroundings.
I’d love to hear from you –
How have you combatted the evil forces of office-itis?
Setting up a healthy workspace can be easy and simple. For example, adding a plant to your desk can improve air quality, while a small water filter can help you stay hydrated throughout the day. Other easy changes include using a standing desk or investing in a comfortable office chair.
-Steve
All That Sitting
The health problems associated with sitting for long periods of time are well known. For one, our bodies are not designed to sit in chairs with backs for extended periods of time. Historically, we have walked and stood much more than we have sat, and chairs were a luxury item until a couple hundred years ago.When we sit, our hip flexor muscles become shortened and active, which can cause them to become stiff and overactive over time.Yeah, that’s right. At the same time, your hip extensors are getting longer and weaker. Your glutes and hamstrings are all stretched out, and I’m guessing your glutes are somewhat inactive.The hip region is responsible for all power and movement, and if the supporting muscles (glutes, hamstrings, hip flexors, etc.) are not strong enough or too weak, the whole system will fail.
First, try avoiding the problem. Explore your options, which include:
I’m not going over the benefits of a standing workstation again. Just do it if you can, it’s definitely worth it. Try showing your boss the data from that post to convince them. If they’re still not convinced, you might have to do something yourself or try a different approach.
Seth Roberts found that standing on one leg for a short amount of time gave him the same benefits as standing for eight hours. I love getting lots of bang for my buck, so this is worth a shot if you can’t do the standing thing for eight hours a day.
If you can’t stand for long periods of time, or you’re embarrassed to try balancing on one leg, you can try getting up and moving around every half hour. Walk around, do some squats, and stretch. Breaking up your sitting will help avoid long periods of motionlessness.
Mitigate the problem. You can fix the problem by strengthening your extensors and stretching your flexors:
1. The “couch stretch” by Kelly Starrett. This stretch is really beneficial, as it will allow you to enjoy the feeling of “undoing years of sitting”, as Starrett says. Watch the video and do the stretch a couple times a week and you’ll be amazed at how good your hips feel. It only takes a few minutes.
2. Improve your internal hip rotation. Do what this guy is doing. If it hurts, you need it.
It is important to maintain a strong relationship with your glutes. This can be done by doing exercises such as squats, deadlifts, sprints, and by admiring your reflection in the mirror. Glute bridges are a popular exercise, but weighted hip thrusts may be more effective in building a lasting relationship with your buttocks. If you think you’re engaging your glutes but are unable to establish the glute-brain connection, try poking your glutes as you engage it. By actually feeling it harden against your finger, you’ll be able to establish the neurological connection, thus making future engagements easier and more effective.
-Sit in a squatting position and hang from a bar for at least one minute twice a day.
All That Typing
While lightly grabbing the middle of your forearm, pantomime typing with the hand of the arm you’re grabbing. What do you notice? There’s a big network of tendons and connective tissue running up your whole arm that supports your fingers. You can feel it working and expressing while you “type.” That network can get gummed up, especially when it’s overworked from things like a forty-hour workweek (which is actually more like fifty). Poor typing posture, from things like improper seating arrangements or inactive and tight muscles, can make it even worse. You can’t realistically go back to quill and parchment, so try these suggestions:
1. Try nerve glides. Here it is:
- Sweep your arm out to the side until it is slightly behind you, palm facing forward, elbow gently straight
- Pull your wrist back until you feel a gently tension somewhere in the arm
- Relax the wrist forward until tension is relieved
- Repeat 10 times
- Ease the tension on the wrist to about half
- Holding this position, gently raise your arm until you feel tension (stay below shoulder height)
- Lower the arm until tension is relieved
- Repeat 10 times
- Ease the tension on the arm to about half
- Tilt your head (bring opposite ear towards opposite shoulder) until you feel tension
- Straighten the neck until tension is relieved
- Repeat 10 times
You should try the other exercises too, doing each one at least once a day. Once you start feeling better, you can do one exercise less each day.
2. Get a rubber band with some tension to it, or a hair scrunchy. Take the affected hand and touch all five fingers tips together, making a point. Slip the band or scrunchy around all five fingers and draw them apart against the resistance of the band. It’s the opposite of squeezing. Most people are stronger when gripping than going the opposite direction, so it’s worth it. Do this whenever you have some free time – in between emails, at home while watching TV, even while driving. You can keep it up with the other hand.
3. Hand massages can improve the function of your hand muscles and reduce pain. With a ball or your knuckles, massage the palm of your hand deeply for a few minutes a few times a week.
