4 tips for good posture at work

 

Good posture is one of the building blocks of a healthy, strong body. Preventing back pain, slipped discs and poor blood circulation are just some of the benefits of having good posture. Plus, poor posture can also lead to headaches and arthritis too. Despite this, many of us have trouble maintaining good posture throughout the working day.

 

For many of us, a day of work involves sitting at our desks and looking at a computer for multiple hours of the day. And throughout that day our necks can get stiff, our backs can slouch and bad postural habits can form.

 

One of the best and simplest things you can do for your long-term health is to correct your posture. Osteopathy can help greatly with poor posture through a combination of exercises and other healing methods. Your osteopath will also be able to offer great, tailored advice on how to improve your posture in the workplace.

 

So, although we are stuck to our office chairs each day, how can we improve our posture and reduce our risk of a variety of health ailments?

 

1. Get a better work setup

Perhaps the easiest thing to change is to mount your computer a little bit higher so that your chin isn’t dropping to look at it. Ideally, a custom-fitted stand-up desk will help you to prevent any poor posture throughout the day, but if that’s not an option for you, consider moving your computer monitor.

 

By moving your computer monitor to eye-level, you can keep the neck straight and prevent straining and stiffness throughout the day. This can be as simple as putting a few books or reams of printer paper under your monitor to bring it up to the correct level.

 

2. Uncross your ankles and lower your shoulders

Posture doesn’t just stem from the neck and back, it is also stabilized in your shoulders and hips.

 

Because of this, crossing your ankles can be pretty damaging to your overall posture. How? Crossing the ankles tips the hips out of alignment and can lead to an imbalance in the posture. Instead try to keep your body as even as possible, with both feet flat on the ground.

 

We all know to keep our shoulders down low, but if poor posture is already affecting a person often the shoulders will rise subconsciously. Setting a reminder on your phone for a few days can help to retrain your brain to think about your shoulder placement, making it less of a subconscious thing.

 

3.Getting moving

One of the best things we can do for our posture in the workplace is to get moving – ideally every hour. Whether for you that means going to the kitchenette to make a cuppa, or getting up to ask your colleague a question rather than emailing or calling them.

 

Why?

 

Sitting all day slows blood flow, causes damage to the spinal discs and bones and can even affect your life expectancy. Sounds like a pretty good reason to get an extra cuppa to me!

 

4. Get some help

If your posture is really suffering and is causing other problems for your body, seeing a specialist can help to correct any issues that have come about because of your poor posture. Visiting an osteo clinic will also empower you with solutions to help improve your posture and therefore, your overall wellbeing.