Posture is by far the most important aspect of your body’s mechanics and will directly influence how your muscles and joints feel as you age. Bad posture is not generally felt acutely, unless you sleep incorrectly on your arm it falls asleep or worse yet you accidental fall asleep on the couch and wake up with wicked neck pain. Aside from these events that can cause an acute problem, posture is a mechanical function that takes time to completely develop into serious pain and discomfort. The main culprit you are fighting against is gravity and in the end no matter how strong you are, if you try to fight gravity YOU WILL LOSE! You need to learn how to co-exist with gravity because it will always be there (Hopefully! LOL), always be pulling at the same force - 6.67428 x 10^-11 Newtons (m/kg)^2 Even if you can positively change your posture and ergonomics 50% of the time you are relieving a tremendous amount of pressure and stress on your body. Even if you can positively change your posture and ergonomics only 50% of the time you are relieving a tremendous amount of pressure and stress on your body. Follow these tips:
1. Your monitor position while working in front of a computer should be no closer than 14” and no further than 30”. When you sit upright in your chair and look straight ahead your eyes should ideally pass through the middle of your computer screen. If you have a lab-top stack a few books underneath to reach the optimal height, ideally using a docking station for a labtop is best
2. Sit upright with relaxed shoulders; place your hands on the keyboard in a typing position. Now adjust your seat height until your elbows are bent at 90°. For a great way of keeping good posture and exercising your postural muscles, use a correct sized physioball instead of a chair or a fit disk that sits on your chair
3. When you are seated your feet should always be planted on the floor, NEVER hanging. Inadequately supported feet when sitting causes excessive stress on the spine, which can compress the sciatic nerve. If you are too short then you need a footrest or a wobble board and your knees should be at 90° while seated
4. If you must position material to type, place it next to the monitor so you can read the material using horizontal gaze versus turning your head to see what to type. A common cause of neck pain is a monitor that is placed diagonally in front of the worker making him/her keep their neck turned while typing
5. Lumbar support should be positioned in the small of your back. The convex support piece should match the concave (lordosis) curve of your lumbar spine. You can buy a fancy lumbar support pillow or just roll up a thick towel and place it in the small of your back
6. When typing for extended periods of time chronic pressure on the wrist area is what causes conditions such as carpal tunnel and forearm pain. Your wrist should be in a neutral position with a padded wrist support underneath if possible.
7. Always use a head set instead of holding a phone using your neck and shoulders. Prolonged exposure in this position will inevitably result in neck and shoulder pain. Using a headset will eliminate these problems
8. Keep your chin tucked in at all times, the opening of your ear should line up with your shoulders to keep the stress off your upper neck and shoulder region. For example, when getting out of bed lead with your forehead, not your chin
9. When getting in and getting out of a car always swing both your feet out at the same time instead of placing one foot out first and then twisting your body to push yourself out of your seat. The most common way a person herniates a disc is putting the back into a position of flexion, rotation, and then having a shear force applied while in that position (ex. bending over to pick up groceries or typing your shoes and getting a sudden 'locking' of the low back with sharp, radiating pain down the legs
10. Keep your ‘core’ (transverse abdominal, diaphragm, pelvic floor, and lumbar stabilizers) tight at all times, exercise breathing techniques, and practice your exercises to tighten this part of your body and you will help ensure that future injuries can be prevented. To read more about strengthening your core muscles to avoid injury click on INCREASING CORE STRENGTH, BROOKLYN NY.
To see if you qualify for insurance coverage of various pain management services please fill in the data fields in PAIN MANAGEMENT, BROOKLYN NY. You will be contacted shortly after to go over your options.
Dr. Gordon Kuang C.S.C.S.
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