Did You Know Your Workplace Is Hurting You

If you spend your days working inside a cubicle or in front of a desk and computer then you may already be experiencing a world of pain. The pain may not be that painful yet but it’s a sign that your work is drastically affecting your health and if you’re not careful you could wind up with a lot more than just a simple painful back.

The reason your body is suffering pain is because of the repetitive nature of your daily work activity along with the fact that you seldom move from where you’ve squatted your butt. The long hours of sitting at the same place and doing the same thing over and over again will often results in poor blood circulation. It also puts stress on parts of your body and muscles resulting in the pain that you’re experiencing.

back pain 

While you may not think the pain you’re feeling in your shoulders or in your lower back is nothing to be worried about, you should be worried. That’s because pain is a signal from your body that something is wrong and if you disregard this warning you may wind up with more pain and more injury than you first started.

That being said, there are things you can do in your workplace that can help prevent further damage to your body and make you more efficient in the process. Let’s start with your desk and chair and work our way from there.

The chair should be adjustable so you can control the height as well as the lean of the seat and back. Nice lumbar support is also very important since you will be using it for hours on end. With a good chair you can give your body, more specifically your back, more support and lessen its burden while you’re sitting down.

As for your desk it should be the right height so that your keyboard allows you to have your keyboard to be at about a 90-degree angle. The desk should also allow you to scoot in and out under it so you can get close without having to reach for anything which lessens the stress on your shoulders and wrists.

At the same time your computer screen should be at eye level. Make sure that it is far enough for you to see clearly without having to bend forward. With this you make sure that your neck is not strained by always looking down or up thereby saving you on future pain.

You can do more than just changing your hardware so to speak. You can also help give your body a break by taking breaks in between and letting your body move around to get those muscles limbered out and relaxed and also to get your blood circulation going again.

Try to get up and move around even if it’s just for a few seconds every hour. This will give your body relief from the burden of bearing your weight sitting down. It also allows your muscles to spring back to their original form before you use them again. This will help maintain their elasticity so they can do a good job supporting you without making it painful.

Consult Deborah Koval on how to make your office better for your physical well-being.