Habits like carrying a purse for long hours, sleeping or even sitting on an office chair for a better part of the non-comatose day, can be contributory to a wrong posture. If you are particularly concerned about wrong postures from sitting a lot at work, here are some tips that will help you improve posture and ergonomics at work.
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Spot warnings
If you are suffering from back pain that worsens occasionally, it could be from poor ergonomics or sitting postures. If this happens often during office days and not during weekends, consider this more than a warning. Other general signs include pain that starts at the neck and slowly subsides toward the lower back. Also, be mindful about back pains that originate all of a sudden after a new chair or new job.
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Mind body alignment while standing or sitting
If you are standing, it is important that all portions of the feet feel equal pressure of the body weight. When you are seated on the office chair, make best use of the features incorporated in the chair.Ensure that you sit straight and the hips, shoulders and ears fall in vertical alignment. But however good a sitting position might seem to be, prolonged hours spent on an office chair often result in some degree of stress.
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Move often
You often tend to slump and slouch as and when muscles start tiring from the day’s work. Through this, extra strain is exerted on the back and neck. To maintain a posture that is both relaxing and supportive, you must keep changing seating positions.
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Make use of Ergonomic Chairs
Ergonomic chairs are desired to subtract maximum stress from long seating hours. Additionally, you may also take aid of other ergonomic props that are meant to remove stress and tension from the spine. Small support facilities like lumbar supports for back, footrests, or just a small pillow can be great ways to ensure good posture while sitting on a car or office seat.
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Vet your posture in all other settings
Moving toward an ergonomic lifestyle involves developing an awareness of posture in everyday activities at home, play and office. If you are vigilant about instances of pain and the preceding postures that could be the possible causes, you can do better to avoid that particular posture at work. Trying out a different position mostly works fine.
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Exercise while at work
Research suggests that long sitting sessions slows down the metabolism of the boy irrespective of how ergonomic your chair or posture is. Exercising a little, once in every couple of hours helps a lot in releasing the tension accumulated by the body. Once the muscles relax, you will be able to perform better after taking a break from sitting.
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Wear the right footwear
You should try and avoid wearing heels too often at work. High heels disturb the center of gravity of the body and promote ‘compensatory alignment’. This affects the back, neck and overall body pasture adversely. Standing for long at a counter can also be a cause for negative posture acquisition. The best way to distribute strain and to release tension is to elevate one of the legs on a footrest.
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Incorporate Ergonomics when On the Move
Ergonomics does not only apply to the stationary body. Other motion activities as simple as using a cellphone, typing or just walking also call for adequate application of ergonomics. Using the right postures during these motion activities is another great way of energizing the body while at work.
It has been noted that the most common instances of back injuries at work occur when trying to indulge in a heavy motion activity after a seating session.
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Promote ergonomics at workplace
Ergonomic investment is always a positive step toward ensuring a healthy workplace. And the ROI is quite the cake here. Unless all the elements of the work station – chair, desk, computer screen and keyboard, are placed correctly, it will be difficult to create an ergonomic workspace.
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Do not over-protect your posture
The most important thing to remember is not to overstrain the body while trying to achieve the right posture. Remember that all ergonomic postures will provide sufficient relaxation at work.
Following the above tips in workplace ergonomics will definitely go a long way in ensuring a better posture at work.
