We have all experienced eye strain, neck pain, headaches or a sore back when sitting for long periods at our desks. Most commonly this is caused by poor posture, sitting awkwardly or unnecessary strain, brought on by a poor ergonomic set-up. And, with the amount of working-from-home many of us have been doing over the past few years, this issue has become even worse.
So, it is really important to make sure your workstation or home office is set-up ergonomically so you can avoid the aches and pains and long term strain or injury.
Over the coming months our ergonomic experts will share their top tips for setting up your home or office workstation. In this blog, we’ll start with the chair.
Top 3 tips for good chair ergonomics:
- Chair height: your chair needs to be adjusted to allow your arms to rest parallel to the desk, regardless of whether your feet are touching the ground
- Resting on the backrest: avoid leaning forward in your chair – your chair’s back promotes a neutral spine when you lean against it, putting less strain on the spine and muscles, and optimising neutral spine alignment
- Chair position: roll your chair close to the desk (so your abdomen is almost touching) to avoid leaning forward, again reducing unnecessary strain on the spine and muscles
Here’s a bonus tip! Incorporate microbreaks of 1-2 minutes every 30-60 minutes into your daily work routine. In these microbreaks stand up and do a quick light stretch. This helps to get the blood flowing through the muscles and is great for preventing injury. And it feels good too!
For more workplace ergonomic tips, subscribe to our free video collection where our Ergonomics Expert demonstrates the best practices and equipment set up.