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For people who work at a desk, prolonged sitting is an unfortunate reality of day-to-day life.
We sit on our commute, we sit at work, and we sit on the couch at home.
It’s very common for people to sit for 11 or even 12 hours a day!
This has a serious negative impact on our health.
In fact, even if you get the recommended 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise each
week, this still won’t counteract the negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle.
Not to mention the fact that according to Stats Canada, only 15% of Canadians are currently
meeting these physical activity recommendations.
Now, numerous studies on the negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle have even led physicians
to refer to sitting as the new smoking!
The consequence of this type of lifestyle are an increase in what we call Musculoskeletal
Disorders or MSDs for short.
MSDs are injuries or disorders of the nerves, ligaments, muscles, tendons, joints and cartilage
in the neck, back, upper and lower limbs.
While there are a number of preventative strategies you can employ to reduce your risk of MSDs,
the way you setup your workstation can either positively or negatively affect your health.
But before we can think about how we setup our workstation, we need to consider how we
setup and align our own bodies.
It’s important that we set ourselves up in neutral spine.
Neutral spine is the natural resting position of the spine where the discs, joints, and
ligaments experience the least amount of stress and act as a spring to support our body against
gravity.
Once you’ve established neutral spine, you need to setup your workstation so that you
can maintain this position for the majority of your sitting time.
This begins with your chair.
Your chair should be adjustable for seat height, seat depth, arm supports, as well as the backrest
position.
Adjust the seat height so that the highest point of the seat is just below the level
of the kneecap.
If present, position the lumbar support to just above the belt line.
With your feet flat on the floor, check that the clearance between the back of the knee
and the seat can fit a clenched fist.
Adjust the arm supports so that with the elbows bent to 90 degrees, your arms barely touch
the armrests.
Lock the back of your chair in a position that supports neutral spine.
Roll your chair towards the surface of the desk so that your hands can rest comfortably
on the keyboard without having to reach your arms forward.
This will reduce the stress on your arms, shoulders and neck.
Your keyboard should lay flat and be on the same level as your mouse allowing your shoulders,
elbows, and wrists to be in a neutral position.
If this is not possible given your height or the limits of your workstation, try introducing
a footrest.
With your knees bent to 90 degrees, place your feet on the footrest.
Elevate your chair height so that your forearm and wrists are in a neutral position on the
keyboard.
Position the monitor so that the top of the screen is at approximately eye level and an
arm’s length away.
When using your mouse, try not to squeeze too tightly, keep your wrist straight, and
move the mouse from the shoulder, not from the wrist.
Now give some thought into how you move in your workstation in your general work flow.
Try to avoid positions and movements that involve bending and twisting of the spine.
If you use your mouse with your right hand, consider putting the phone on your left.
If you need space at your desk to read or write, consider moving your chair to one side
or the other or pushing the keyboard out of the way to make space.
Remember, even with an ideal ergonomic setup, it's essential that you take movement and
stretch breaks at a minimum of once every hour.
More and more people are using laptops wherever they go.
With better technology, laptops are lighter, they have longer battery life and they provide
the overall functionality of a computer with the convenience of portability.
However, laptops were not intended for long-term use and yet they are becoming the primary
device for many students and workers.
Now, due to their inherent structure, neither the keyboard nor the monitor can be adjusted
to fit your postural needs.
And because it's so portable, people often adopt even worse seated postures when using
their laptops.
The biggest challenge with a laptop is getting the monitor to eye level while keeping the
keyboard at arm level.
We recommend using a wireless or detachable keyboard and mouse whenever possible and raising
the monitor using a stand or even some text books to reduce the strain on the neck.
Preventing MSDs really requires a proactive approach.
Having a good ergonomic setup is only one part of the equation.
If you are not currently experiencing any of the signs or symptoms of MSDs, now is the
time to begin moving more and employing strategies for prevention.
If you are currently experiencing some of the common symptoms associated with MSDs,
seek the advice of a qualified health care practitioner, such as a chiropractor, or physiotherapist
to aid your recovery and help customize a prevention program to meet your individual needs.
In addition to this video, we've created some resources customized to help you.
Check out our website for more information.
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