Desk Ergonomics - A pain in the neck?
A typical day for many is waking up and getting on public transport or into the car where we sit for our morning commute. From here we spend the majority, if not all of the day sitting our desks, even having lunch at our desks if we’re particularly time poor. We’ll then get back into the car or back onto public transport and sit as we make our way home. For most of us, we’ll then sit as we eat dinner and then – you guessed it, sit on the couch watching our favourite TV show until it’s time for bed, only to wake up the next morning and do it all again.
What was the recurring word you noticed in the above scenario?
One key word: SIT.
In today’s day and age, we are sitting more than ever. Sitting as we travel, as we eat, as we work – a pattern that unfortunately often develops poor postures and bad habits. Worse still, we are constantly looking down; at our phones, at our laptops, at our screens – positioning our bodies poorly and causing increased amounts of load on our muscles and joints.
The average human head weighs anywhere from 5-6kg. That’s 5-6kg of load being held up by your neck and shoulder joints and muscles - a fairly decent weight that your body needs to work to support. Now, think about the position our heads are in when we are looking down at our phones and screens. Lowering the head by just 15 degrees increases the load on the neck to almost 12kg; an even greater weight that your body need to work to support. The more we bend our necks, the greater the load placed on your joints and muscles.
Have you ever wondered why your neck and shoulders feel quite sore after a long day at work? Imagine carrying a 12 kg dumbbell for 8 straight hours – you’d likely have sore arms after it. The same goes for the neck and shoulders.
Each year millions of Australian’s experience neck and shoulder pain, typically as a result of postural strains and poor work ergonomics. Prolonged sitting in poor postures due to a poor work set up creates a cumulative load on your muscles and joints that can very easily lead to pain and overload injuries.
To reduce this load and your risk of injury, it’s imperative that your work station is set up correctly. This is even more important now that many of us are working from home in less than optimal work environments, where the appeal to sit on the couch with your laptop is ever tempting. Factors such as chair type and height, screen, keyboard and mouse position are all great influencers on sitting posture and when optimised, can greatly reduce your risk of neck and shoulder pain. Additionally, small activity modifications throughout the day can further reduce your risk of developing an overload injury of your neck and shoulders.
This is where physiotherapy can help. Here at Back in Motion Melbourne on Collins, we are experts in ergonomic assessment. Being optimally placed in the CBD, we have had extensive experience in treating desk and office based workers and can easily advise you on the best way to ergonomically set up your work station.
Do you have neck and shoulder pain after a long day at work? It might be time to see your physiotherapist. If you want to learn more about the best way to set up your desk, would like to know what small modifications you can do to reduce your risk of neck and shoulder pain, or, if you’re wanting some relief from that aching you’re feeling every day after work – come in and see us today.
Bianca Schellander
Physiotherapist
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