If you have to sit in an office chair for long hours at a time you may be a web designer. If you are not to get a backache, it’s important to ensure your chair is a good fit for you. Even ergonomic chairs will not prevent a backache if they are not of the right dimensions for you. Tall people need a chair that is larger than one a short person would find comfortable.
Often, even though the chair fits and the desk is the right height, people who sit for many hours a day can still end up with a backache. This can be due to any number of factors. In fact, if the computer monitor is not directly in front of you, a neck and backache can develop from the angle of your neck and head. Even though you may only need to turn slightly, when you have to hold that position for a long time, it can put a strain on your neck and spine.
If you have a backache at the end of the day – or before – try these few healthy living tips to alleviate it.
- Place a cushion at your lower back for more support
- Get up more frequently, stretch and walk about
- Sit on a cushion with a coccyx cut-out at the back to relieve pressure on the sciatic nerve
- Try and keep your back straight rather than slumping
- Use a chair with padded armrests to ease shoulder and upper back pain
- Stretch your arms above your head at random times throughout the day
- Move your head gently from side to side every so often
- Inscribe circles with your shoulders to ease stiffness in the upper back
- Make sure your feet are firmly on the floor and the top half of your legs are horizontal, not sloping either up or down.
- If nothing else works, try a different kind of chair
When you have a sedentary job, it is important to find ways to exercise after work and at the weekends. Our bodies are meant to move and exercise keeps us healthy, refreshing both mind and body. If you sit all day and then come home and sit for several more hours, you are setting yourself up for many unpleasant things to happen, from obesity to muscle strain and pain or worse.
It may seem like a waste of time to simply go for a walk, but in fact, it is helping you to stay healthier and toning your muscles so that you feel better, not to mention you will look better too, after a walk out in the fresh air. But if you’ve spent months not doing any exercise, start off gradually, because your body will be weak and easily strained.