6 Tips To Reduce Back Pain At Work

Good posture is easy in theory but difficult to practice.

When you’re sitting at a desk, staring at a screen for hours it’s easy to let posture slip.

We tend to slump a little, slouch a lot, lean forward, hunch and generally move around.

The muscles responsible for keeping us upright are the abdominal muscles and the back muscles (intertransversarii muscle, multifidus spinae, trapezius muscle)

Leaning forward 30 degrees to get closer to your computer screen puts 3 to 4 times more strain on the back, causing premature wear and tear on the joint surfaces, ligaments of the spine, and the discs located between the vertebrae.

The back muscles are also negatively affected as the continuous added strain causes them to tighten, reducing optimal blood flow. Over time this posture leads to the development of tight, rigid muscles and joints, which in turn makes them prone to injury.

Here’s a quick 6 point guide to sitting comfortably and reducing back pain;

1. Elbow position

First, begin by sitting comfortably as close as possible to your desk so that your upper arms are vertical, parallel to your spine and rest your hands on your desktop / keyboard.

If your elbows are not at a 90-degree angle, adjust your office chair height either up or down.

2. Thigh position

You should be able to slide your fingers under your thigh at the front edge of the office chair. If it is too tight, you need to prop your feet up with an adjustable footrest or adjust the seat height but remember point 1!

3. Calf position

Sit back against the chair back and place your hand between the back of your calf and the front edge of your office chair. If you can’t, you will need to adjust the chair backrest, lumbar support or seat depth by using a seat slide if one is fitted, or get a new office chair!

4. Lower back

When you sit correctly with you back against the back rest, there should be cushioning that causes your lower back to arch slightly to encourage you not to slump forward or slouch down in the chair. This low back support in an office chair is essential to minimize the strain on your back.

5. Eye level

Your resting gaze should be aimed at the centre of your computer screen. If your computer screen is higher or lower than your gaze, you need to either raise or lower it to reduce neck strain.

6. Armrest

Adjust the armrest of the office chair so that it just slightly lifts your arms at the shoulders. Using an armrest on your office chair is a great way to take some of the strain off your neck and shoulders and should make you less likely to slouch forward in your office chair.

The Importance Of Using the Best Chair For the Job.

The average office worker spends a minimum of 7-8 hours every day in a seated position. This has  been the case in most offices of course but the introduction of computer technology, particularly email and the internet, have made us even more sedentary than before.

Remember 20 years ago?

In those days if you needed to send an important message or memo to somebody you would type it out, print it and then (shock horror!!) actually stand up and walk to their office or desk to physically hand them the piece of paper. Nowadays we just type it,  click a button and BOOM the message instantly pops up in front of the recipient.!  No standing up, no exertion from having to put one foot in front of the other and certainly no need to lift a heavy sheet of paper. It is all done from the comfort of your office chair with hardly any physical movement whatsoever.

OK, maybe that example is a bit extreme and dramatic but it does demonstrate that we tend to spend even more time in a seated position than ever before. It’s not that we’re lazy, it’s just that quite often there is absolutely no need to leave our desks (except maybe for a toilet break – but I wouldn’t be surprised if the chair pictured below is introduced at some point).

 Due to this increased inactivity it is more important than ever to have the correct chair.  Quality features such as a lumbar support, headrest, height adjustment and adjustable arms are considered essential in todays working environment.  You may not always realise it but when you find yourself sliding down your chair or slouching to one side you are damaging your spine all the time, the most worrying part is that you never realise the damage until it is too late! Your spine is one of the most important parts of your body, if you suffer from back ache you can find yourself completely debilitated, unable to walk, crouch or carry items as many back pain sufferers will tell you!

At this point you have probably straightened yourself up and resumed the required position – but for how long?  As soon as you throw yourself back in to the job at hand you will unintentionally slip back in to your usual bad habits as before.

Thankfully there are chairs available nowadays to help you maintain the best seating position. In our orthopaedic chairs category you will find a generous selection of these models all at very reasonable prices.  

Our three most popular models are the Serenity, Halcyon and Chiro Plus. These chairs have adjustable armrests, height adjustment, multiple lever mechanism, seat slide, adjustable back, lumbar support, synchronised mechanism and are all certified to EN5459.

Take a look, your back will thank you!!

What makes a good office chair?

This is not as easy as it sounds to answer as there are many variables to take into account such as how long will the chair be used for each day, the size of the user, the size of the room and many other questions.

The quality of the chair is a good place to start.

If the chair is really cheap then there’s a good chance it won’t be good quality and will not last long.

If you’re spending £39 on a ‘leather’ office chair from a large store you get what you pay for.

A decent office chair should have a good amount of padding and it should be good quality padding. Push your fist down on the seat and you should not be able to feel the bolts etc.

The front edge of the seat should have a shaped or ‘waterfall’ front edge. A seat with a straight front will cut off circulation. A good rule of thumb is that you should be able to slide your fingers between the inside of legs and the front edge of the seat.

On a higher quality chair the seat may have an individual tilt function and/or seat slide. These are useful for finding that comfortable seating position.

The back of the chair is also very important. The back should be shaped to compliment the natural posture of your spine and should offer good support.

The back should be adjustable for tilt and ideally should be adjustable for height to accommodate different users.

The shape of the back will promote good posture.

The chair should of course be height adjustable to accommodate different users.

Posture and how you use your chair is another issue. I have covered this briefly in another post here; http://theofficechairshop.blogspot.com/2011/11/posture-chair-whats-that-all-about.html

The width of the chair should be adequate for you. More generous sized chairs are available if you have a larger frame so don’t squeeze into a chair that is too small.

Many better quality chairs have adjustable arms. Height adjustment is common and many have width adjustment and more to help find a good position.

If you are spending long periods in your chair then an executive type chair is not a great chaice as they tend to have very limited adjustability.

You are better off looking at task type chairs with lots of adjustment built in as we have mentioned above.

We have a wide range of office chairs at www.theofficechairshop.co.uk. We welcome the opportunity to talk to our customers so please feel free to call us and discuss any questions you may have.