7 Ergonomic Tips To Help Save Your Aching Neck And Back While Working From Home | CommonHealth

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Do you have a bad back, kinks in your neck, or kinks in your shoulders, dating back to when you started working from home due to the coronavirus pandemic?

It may be time to start thinking more about the ergonomics of working at home settings.

Conversation with WBUR

Carolyn Herkenham, a senior expert and industrial hygienist in the Department of Environmental Health and Safety at Boston University, provides some ergonomic best practice tips to people working from home during the pandemic.

I heard a lot about people working on the sofa, working on the floor and coffee tables.

When you are sitting, you really want to be as neutral as possible. This means that you want your spine to resemble the spine when standing. Therefore, when you sit on the sofa, you are actually bending the spine in the opposite direction, which actually increases the pressure on the spine by as much as 85%.

What I want to do is to stay upright, which is to push the height of the chair as high as possible.

When I was sitting in the chair, I found that I had to raise my arms and wrists to pick up the keyboard of the laptop. Therefore, when I lift the chair as high as possible, my shoulders and arms will be more neutral than the keyboard. And more comfortable. When raising the arm, it will not promote any shoulder fatigue or arm fatigue.

If you can’t lift your seat, honestly, I just want to use a pillow or cushion to keep you tall. Therefore, the problem is that your legs may hang on the chair. May cause numbness in the legs. Therefore, a good idea is to just pick up any Amazon boxes lying around you or on the Amazon bookshelf, and support them under your feet so that your feet are slightly raised so that your thighs do not feel numb or tingling.

When you lean over to look at the monitor or when your back is tilted back, neck strain may occur, but when you look up at the monitor, neck fatigue may occur. The best thing you can do is try to actually use the back of the chair. Again, if you have an ordinary kitchen chair, I suggest you put a pillow on the back of the chair and try to really use the entire back of the chair, because if you lean forward, the next one will be produced when you sit down The stress is looking up at your monitor. You don't want to look up.

So, ideally, in fact, when you are only using a laptop, this is the best strategy, which is actually to put the laptop on the box or let yourself give the laptop about four inches of height because you In fact, it is hoped that the line of sight is at a quarter of the top display, which sounds high, but it is actually important.

Therefore, our common complaint here is that people have wrist pain. This is mainly because at home, you can directly touch your wrist through the keyboard. This contact pressure may actually cause carpal tunnel syndrome or tendinitis problems. Therefore, it is very important to have as much contact with the palm and desk as possible when typing, and contact with the handheld computer. The reason is because your wrists are more sensitive and do not have the fleshy protection of your palms. Therefore, it is indeed a good idea to use the palm as the main contact method to avoid risk pressure when using the keyboard on a computer or desk.

If you want to reduce eye fatigue, you should follow the "20-20-20" rule. Therefore, if you look at the computer screen for 20 seconds in 20 minutes, you should look away from the computer for 20 seconds every 20 minutes at a distance of 20 feet.

It is very important to move around as much as possible. When you are completely still, it is the cause of the greatest pressure on your muscles. Therefore, if you are attending a zoom meeting or phone call, it is indeed a good idea to walk around the office or house. If you have a chance to go out for lunch, go for a walk outside.

I know this is very challenging because many of us sit on tables and chairs for a long time. However, if given the opportunity, it is an interesting creative exercise to come up with a way of standing or even the ability to reposition the chair. And, if you are lucky enough to walk around on an office chair, this form of exercise will help you in the long run.

Frankly speaking, I think it's a good idea to change your position and leave your chair at least every 30 minutes. Drink a lot of water. This is the best way to get up from the chair more frequently.

One piece of advice I want to emphasize to everyone is that you must specify a space that suits you. I know this can be tricky, but customization is very important. You should actually adjust the office space as much as possible to suit your family space. It does get you into the mindset of work. If you designate a space for yourself, then you can start working because everything is ready for you, without spending time jumping from the sofa to the coffee table, bathroom or other places.

Lisa Mullins is the face of everything WBUR considers. She hosts the show, conducts field interviews and reports.

Khari Thompson is the live producer of WBUR's "Morning News".