|
Poor Posture Affects Your Health |
|
|
|
|
Have you ever wondered why a particularly uncomfortable stiff neck or aching shoulder is bothering you? That twinge in the base of your spine that you ignore is usually due to your seating position or keyboard height when you are at the computer.
Your posture at work can affect your health
Everyone does it, sitting at our desks hunched over, deep in thought tapping away at the keyboard, and this is the very thing that triggers off an irritable headache later on in the day or evening.
Have you ever wondered why a particularly uncomfortable stiff neck or aching shoulder is bothering you? That twinge in the base of your spine that you ignore is usually due to your seating position or keyboard height when you are at the computer.
You can easily bend your spine and neck into unnatural positions, which they can eventually stay in. Your head is about ten pounds, and over a period of time, that is enough to reverse the C-curve in your neck, and what about the strained the muscles in your arm, wrist and hand that you use for the mouse that you also ignore?
In order to avoid this and reduce the risk of doing serious damage to your health, check that:
- Your chair gives your back proper support
- The height of your chair allows you to have your feet flat on the floor, with the angle of your knees no less than 90 degrees
- Your monitor is positioned at a height so that you can look straight ahead at it, without twisting, rounding, extending or craning your neck up or down.
- If you use a laptop, consider getting a keyboard and raising the laptop to a screen height
- The angle of your elbows is no less than 90 degrees, with wrists flat while typing
- When you are in front of the computer for more than ten minutes, break and give the following stretches a try. There are only a few of them, so for every ten minutes, at your desk, a few stretch. Fair enough?
Shoulder stretch-Sit upright, with your feet flat on the floor and stomach pulled in. Reach your right arm across the front of your body, using your left arm to pull it close to your chest. Feel the tension in your right arm and shoulder. Hold for 10-15 seconds, and then repeat with your other arm.
Back stretch-Stand up, pull in your stomach and place your hands at the small of your back. Try to push your elbows closer together without arching your lower back. Hold for 10 seconds. Repeat four times.
Add your favorite stretches, then send this to your clients as your own personalized e-mail, to help build your relationship and keep them healthy. |
