As many desk workers have shifted to working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, sitting posture is important to think about (especially since working from a bed or couch long-term is not ideal). You’ve likely heard there is an "ideal sitting posture" that will stop you from feeling pain while working. The problem with this belief is that it oversimplifies how the body deals with physical stressors. Now I’m not saying that posture doesn't matter, but instead, that it’s not what you think. Allow me to explain...
How the body deals with physical stress
The body hates monotony. Doing the exact same thing over and over is not only super boring and tedious for your mind, but it can also be disruptive towards the body. Imagine something as simple as lightly pulling one of your fingers backwards to stretch it. If you do it right now and hold it for 5 seconds, you’ll likely feel almost nothing. It’s the tiniest of stretches that disappears once you let it go. This is because the body is very robust and resilient meaning that it can deal with lots of random stresses without leaving any lasting effects. With that in mind, take that exact same finger stretch, and hold it for an 8-hour workday. I will save you from doing the test yourself in order to discover that eventually it will be painful! Maybe if the finger stretch is super light, you can tolerate tens of minutes of it before it becomes sore, but if instead it's very forceful, you may only be able to tolerate it for tens of seconds.
Fortunately for everyone, the body has a wonderful ability to adapt to the stresses that are placed on it. This is how people can get stronger by working out or get faster by running. Unfortunately, there is a caveat as the body's ability to adapt is not infinite. At some point, if the stresses are always the same, problems may arise. This is why workout programs often change regularly, why people are encouraged to take breaks at work, and why you shouldn't only sit in one posture, even if it's the "ideal" one.
Okay, I understand. But how should I sit then?
Morgan Freeman said it best, "your best posture is your next posture." This means that in order to give yourself the best chance of staying pain free, you have to change your posture regularly. The problem is that many people who work at a desk default to the head forwards, rounded shoulders, slouched look that is all the rage in offices near you. This position is common in people who lack strength in their back or shoulders, or simply have poor body awareness. This posture puts the same stress, on the same parts of the body, over and over throughout the day. Think back to the finger stretch example, but apply it to your neck, back, shoulders, and so on. Now imagine that you have the strength and awareness to use alternative postures that can include standing at a standing desk, sitting up tall and actually using the backrest of your chair (I know you might forget that it exists), shifting your torso towards the left or right, or taking breaks away from your desk.
Here is what you should do:
Change Your Posture
In the early stages, you likely won’t be consciously aware of your sitting posture. So set an alarm on your phone that vibrates every 15 minutes. At that time, take a look at your posture and change it. For example, if after 15 minutes you are fully hunched forwards, sit up tall or stand up for 1 minute. This will help improve your body awareness and create the habit of frequently changing your posture.
Build Your Strength
If you lack strength or mobility in your back, shoulders or neck, you’ll want to start dealing with these issues directly. Working with a registered physiotherapist, you can complete an initial assessment and identify therapeutic exercises that can help build your strength and increase mobility. While you may start with simple exercises to tackle your pain points, the goal of physiotherapy will be to help you incorporate more activity and strength training into your daily routine.
Create an Ergonomic Workstation
In addition to the solutions mentioned above, you’ll want to adjust your workstation to create a more ergonomic setup. The chair you use and the position of your keyboard, mouse, and monitor can make a big difference. There are a million guides for this online if you simply search "workstation ergonomics," but two easy suggestions are to have your monitor at or above eye level and your chair at a height that your arms make an L-shape onto the desk. Essentially, you can put yourself in the "ideal sitting posture"—sitting up tall, head, shoulders and back snug to the back of your chair—and make sure that everything can be reached comfortably without leaving this position. You may not be able to create the perfect, ergonomic workstation (every little improvement helps!) so I suggest focusing on the solutions mentioned above as a starting point to help alleviate your physical aches and pains.
It all makes sense now!
Hopefully this will give you a bit of insight into how physical stressors affect your body and a few suggestions for improving your sitting posture and workstation setup while at home. Working from home due to the global pandemic has its own challenges, but your posture and comfort shouldn’t be one of them.
Live Happily. Live Strongly.
Christian
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