Working from home during the lockdown? Here is everything you need to know about creating that perfect set up in order to ensure a strong and healthy posture!
Have you suddenly been forced to work at home without a proper office setup, shoulders and lower back are starting to feel quite tight and sore. Please see below some tips to help with these issues!
1. Put your work at eye level
When most of the work we do from home is conducted on a small monitor screen or a laptop, it can be very easy to fall into the trap of constantly
looking down, or focusing your eyes lower than necessary. This in turn can lead your head to rest lower, and therefore automatically hunch your shoulders. Incorrect posture is one of the main culprits when it comes to back issues, and so resting your screen on top of a few stacked books or a surface the same height as your face will really do you wonders when it comes to when working from home.
2. Choose your chair wisely
It is extremely common for people working at home to just pull up any chair, and expect it to do the job successfully. When sitting down for long periods of time, it is essential that the chair is fit for purpose, and is fully adjustable in order to suit your specific needs. The chair should be of the height where your forearms are able to rest comfortably on the surface, making it convenient for you to type or write. In order to avoid back pain from overextending or slouching too much, your chair should be adjustable to the correct height in which you can comfortably touch the floor, but not so low that your legs are bent or touching the surface.
3. Don’t fall into the trap
When work needs completing and you feel pressured under deadlines, it can often be tempting to sit at your work station hunched over all day, and plough through your to-do list without getting up or giving your neck or back time to recover. However, it has been scientifically proven that just a 10 minute stretch and walk around the house or garden for every 2 hours of work can be extremely beneficial when it comes to helping back posture after sitting down at the desk for long periods of time.
4. Invest in quality equipment
It has been proven that with the correct home set up, you can drastically stop the negative effects of lockdown home working on your back and shoulders. Whether you choose to invest in a decent keyboard in order to encourage you to keep your back and shoulders square and straight, or instead buy a mouse as a laptops keypad makes you hunch closer to the screen, buying extra equipment could make all the difference when it comes to preventing bad posture.
Above we have summed up just several tips and tricks on how to create a good home set-up for working during the lockdown. From improving your posture, to encouraging good habits, these tips will allow you to make you sure that your back is being looked after, no matter where you have to work. Also check out our Blog about self care during lockdown. Book an appointment with us for a massage today in Leeds and we can go through all of the above and at the end of your massage treatment will provide you with a list of stretches and activation exercises to ensure your muscles stay fit and healthy.
