Chiropractic Tip: Make Sure Your Ergonomics Work for You
The American Chiropractic Association tells us the easier the job is for us physically, the more productive and comfortable we will be. That seems pretty obvious, but when we settle into a work mode for hours at a time, it is easy to forget the specifics and just forge ahead.
When working at a desk, try these suggestions for comfort.
Choose a desk that is the proper height for your body. All items on your desk should be within easy reach.
Your feet should be touching the floor, with the legs and body forming an angle of 90 to 110 degrees.
Keep your body straight with the head and neck upright and looking forward, not to the side. Do not hunch over or slouch.
Adjust the height of your monitor. Look forward with your head in a neutral position. Your eyes should be at the same height as the top of the monitor. Leaning your head forward can lead to headaches and neck pain.
When typing, keep your wrists straight, your shoulders perpendicular to the floor, and your forearms parallel to the floor.
When talking on the phone, use a headset whenever possible—especially if you talk on the phone for prolonged periods. Holding the phone between your shoulder and cheek will only lead to neck pain and headaches.
Stand up and stretch your legs with a short walk about every 20 to 30 minutes. Take micro-breaks often, stretching your neck, arms and wrists, back, and legs. Simple stretches include neck rotations, fist clenches, arm dangles, and shoulder shrugs.
If you must concentrate on a particular job for long periods, relax your eye muscles by shifting your focus from objects close to you to objects that are farther away. This helps reduce eye strain.
When working with a computer mouse, try the following:
Don’t move the mouse with just your wrist. Use your entire arm and shoulder.
Don’t rest your arm on the edge of the desk while manipulating the mouse.
Keep your wrist relaxed.
Step away from the mouse several times per hour.
Consider using an ergonomically designed keyboard.
As you become comfortable with the ergonomics you need, you might visit your local chiropractor for additional tips. Chronic pain and work injuries need good solutions from the best sources.
Seeing Your Chiropractor
Chiropractors have a patient-centered, whole-person approach. They believe wellness and routine chiropractic care should be as basic to our lives as healthy diets and daily exercise.
They offer the purest form of chiropractic care, providing full spinal adjustments to check for subluxations, which are misalignments of the spine. Subluxations are misalignments of one or more vertebrae in the spine and/or joints. When the misalignment is corrected it may have far reaching effects on back, neck and sciatica pain. It may also help with allergies, TMJ, arthritis, headaches and migraines.
As a wellness clinic, the chiropractic focus is on daily stresses, aches and pain without use of medications or surgery.
If that sounds as great to you as it does to majority of the people in the U.S., make an appointment and find out more.
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