Is Your Work Space Spine-Friendly?

El Paso TX. Chiropractor Dr. Alex Jimenez looks at the work environment to see if it is in fact spine friendly.

While work can be a pain, it doesn’t have to cause pain. Creating your office work room in order to avoid back and neck strain is easier than you may think. Plus, rethinking your work environment is a fantastic chance to brush up on other healthy work habits as well as your posture.

Here are five ways you are able to design your office together with your back in your mind.

#1. Perfect Your Sitting Posture

If you’re not sitting right even with the top equipment, your back will suffer. Pay attention to the situation of legs, hands, and your head when sitting. To avoid back pain, make sure to do the following:

• Sit erect with your back and shoulders against the trunk of your chair
• Consider using a hands free headset to stop shoulder and neck pain
• Don’t slouch
• Arms should rest on the armrests of your chair to avoid nerve pressure or circulatory difficulties
• Keep your feet flat on the flooring—don’t cross your legs
• Rest your shoulders while typing

#2. Get A Good Chair

A good-constructed ergonomic seat to help increase your blood flow, reduce fatigue, stress, and decrease the chance of injury to your own neck and back. Getting the chair that is best is important, which means this is one product which should be tried in the store as opposed to purchasing online so you know before purchasing it, the way that it feels. Make fully sure your office chair has got the following:

• A good backrest that provides lumbar support
• The capability to recline (Sitting erect at a 90º angle is not good for your spine; a 100-degrees to 110-degrees angle is much better.)
• Flexible height (You don’t want the seat to be overly high—your feet must be flat on the floor)
• The ability to rotate or swivel, so you can easily change tasks

#3. Invest In A Desk That Offers More Than Just Storage

One of the biggest pitfalls of a spine-friendly work routine is staying in one position for a long time. Switching between sitting and standing is the best strategy, and some desks—known as sit-stand desks or sit-to-stand desks — encourage one to mix up your position through the entire workday.

Sit-to-stand desks offer you the choice to work comfortably in both sitting and standing poses—and they been discovered to simply help burn off calories. They come in various price points and styles, and a growing variety of companies are considering this investment to boost workplace wellness.

If you’re looking to boost the ergonomic quality of a traditional desk make sure the desk is:

• Secure (not wobbly)
• Suitably high (generally 28″ to 30″ above the floor)
• Large enough for your computer, with surface space for writing along with other jobs.
• Not so large that you have to over reach to do your work, which could cause excessive stress on the back

#4. Look At Your Computer

Since so much office work is done on computers, wherever your equipment is put can really make a difference when you are at work, in how your back feels. Try the following tips:

• Tilt the keyboard down and slightly away from you for better wrist posture
• Be sure your mouse is close enough so you can use it with your arms relaxed, and let it be as close to your body as possible
• Set the monitor right in front of you at eye level, not off to the side, in order to avoid eye and neck strain. Adjustable monitor stands are available to find an ideal height.
• If using a notebook, consider getting an external monitor or keyboard (or both). This enables each of those parts individually to move to develop a comfortable arrangement.

#5. Take A Break

Not just a coffee break but a spine break. Stretch, take a quick walk, get the blood flowing. It’s simple to get caught up in work jobs and forget that you’ve been sitting or typing for a straight hour. Whether it’s a 15-minute walk or two-minute stretch session, occasional breaks can help revive your muscles, and perhaps you can find feel more productive, too.

You spend lots of time at work—why not take a few extra steps to develop a space that does your back a number of favors in return?

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