Working from home has many advantages; you do not spend time traveling by bus or car, stressing in traffic, wearing suits and uniforms, and arguing with your colleagues. You can also spend more time with your family and pets, and feel the comfort of your lovely home.
Everything is perfect, right? Not exactly. While working from home has its benefits, it can cause several problems. One of them is a sore back. Read on to find out what you can do to prevent back pain.
You can spend hours without moving from your chair and laptop. After a while, you will start to feel the pain in your back and neck. One of the things that can help you is a massage because massage therapists manipulate the soft tissue with a variety of pressures and movements. They use proven massage techniques, and with their knowledge of human anatomy and treatment of body disorders, they are more qualified to treat pain than you or a family member.
The first thing you should not do is sit straight or lean forward. The waist is bent toward the abdomen, and this is known as lordosis, and it is the most relaxed posture of the lower back, with the lowest pressure on the discs in this area. We want to sit most comfortably and healthily in a way that supports the natural lordosis curve of the lumbar spine.
Lean on the chair and sit close enough to comfortably reach the keyboard and mouse so that some of your weight is supported by the chair. If the chair does not provide good support for your lower back, use a pillow or rolled towel behind your lower back. It is a cheap and ineffective alternative to ergonomic chairs, but it is better than nothing.
If you want to have good office equipment while working from home, the first thing you should get is an ergonomic chair. A worker can sit in the wrong office chair for long periods, and the same chair can cause serious health problems. The addition of an ergonomic office chair dramatically improves posture, reduces back pain, and ultimately increases productivity.
Ergonomic chairs add to your office comfort. There is a difference between this type of chair and the traditional chair you have been using for a long time.
If there’s one thing you need to worry about after sitting for a long time, it’s your posture. If you use regular chairs that lack basic ergonomics, you’ve probably noticed that these chairs tend to lean forward because the backrests aren’t at the right height.
Place the screen in front of you at a comfortable screen height. You should not look down at the screen of a laptop or cell phone on a table. Also, do not tilt the screen so that you have to strangle your neck. Some people like to place the keyboard and mouse with the screen facing forward, but in the end, it causes neck pain. If you are using a different screen or laptop, you should place it on a pile of books or paperboard and in a comfortable display position in front of you.
If you lift your laptop to get the screen to the correct height, use a separate keyboard and mouse. Make sure you can use the keyboard and mouse with your straight, horizontal forearms and hands, and make sure your arms are close to the sides of your body when using the mouse. The nerves of the hand exit the neck and pass through the shoulders, elbows, and wrists. Holding your arm sideways does not put pressure on your nerves, but the more you stretch your arm sideways, the more likely it is that your neck and shoulders will be strained.
One of the disadvantages of working from home is the limitation of exercise. You only think of finishing the work and having a proper internet connection. However, body movements and exercises are just as important as good posture. If you sit for hours, your body will become stiff. It is advisable to make short movements while you work, and if you are prone to forget, you can set an hourly alarm to remind you to take a short walk and then turn back to work.
Take time to treat your body as it deserves, and get the right work equipment to make you feel comfortable and productive at the same time. Do not take your health for granted. Make time for regular breaks and keep the right posture.