Guest blog post from Harper Reid
Back pain from sitting at a desk all day is a very common problem. It can be caused by incorrect posture, the wrong seating or simply from inactivity. Whether it’s mild or severe, back pain can make it difficult to work and go about your everyday life. This is why the best approach is to try and prevent it. Working from home gives you a bit more freedom than working in an office. This will be useful as you will see in the suggestions below.
Here are 5 tips to prevent back pain while working from home.
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1. The Right Seating
One of the best ways to prevent back pain is to choose the right chair. Often working from an office you may not get to choose your furniture. This is one of the benefits of working from home.
You want to look for an ergonomic chair for your home office. This allows you to adjust the height, recline and armrests to offer the best support for your spine. You could also consider sitting on a Swiss exercise ball. This can help strengthen your leg and core muscles as you are actively working these muscles while balancing on the ball.
2. Improve Your Posture
Bad posture is a key contributor to back pain. While having the right chair helps, that’s only half of it.
Keep your head and shoulders upwards and facing forwards. You want your knees to be at a 90-degree angle. Keep your feet flat on the floor and shoulder-width apart.
This will help support your back.
Another cause of back pain can be from holding the phone between your ear and shoulder too frequently. Try using speakerphone or an earpiece instead. This will prevent strain on your neck and back.
3. Take Regular Breaks
When working from home you have the benefit of being able to get up from your desk whenever you like.
You should be getting up from your sitting position at least once every hour for a minute or two.
Use this time to stretch, walk around the house, get a drink or snack, or step outside for some fresh air. These short breaks will go a long way in preventing back pain.
4. Exercise
Exercising is essential for keeping your body healthy, and can be very helpful in preventing back pain. Working from home makes it a lot easier to incorporate exercise into your daily work routine.
You can do stationary exercises at your desk to keep your body active. This can be simple exercises like stretches, leg raises, neck and shoulder rolls and torso twists. You could even keep a small lightweight dumbbell at your desk to get in a few arm curls. During your lunch break you could try doing some Pilates or yoga. These are gentle workouts that can help strengthen your core and promote good posture.
5. Healthy Sleep
Preventing back pain at work isn’t only about your work habits. Sleep also plays a crucial role. Bad sleeping posture can cause back and neck pain which can become exacerbated from sitting all day. The best sleeping position will depend on you, as not everyone is comfortable in the same position. The main thing is to keep your head, shoulders and hips in alignment. You’ll also need a comfortable pillow and mattress that naturally support your sleeping position.
Creating good habits when working from home will go a long way to prevent back pain. It doesn’t require a lot of effort, and being at home should make it easier to incorporate these tips into your work routine. Not only will these tips help you avoid a sore back, they will also improve your overall wellness.
Author bio:
As a freelance content writer, Harper spends most of her hours sitting in front of her computer. She considers her ergonomic office chair and noise-cancelling headphones her two best friends. Discover more of her work on her personal blog.
