Sitting in front of the computer for days in and days out will take its toll on your back and its posture “ especially since most of our computers aren’t exactly at eye level. But instead of succumbing to a lifetime of pain meds, here’s what you can do at your desk to combat back pain. Sometimes it’s just that easy.
1. Elevate your keyboard
If you’re tense in the shoulders and around your neck, odds are that you’re slouching so you can see your screen. Luckily, this has a quick fix: combatting desk pain can be as easy as buying a stand for your laptop that will have you sitting up straight since you’ll be looking at your work head-on instead of down-gazing. As for your wrists: to ensure you’re preventing strain, look into keyboards you can plug in to keep your body aligned.
2. Stretch
Most of us are quick to deny ourselves even a trip to get lunch, but instead of sitting hunched over from 9 until 5, stop every hour to sit up straight, re-align your core and stretch. Combatting back pain begins with prevention, so take a deep breath and reach upwards. You’ll find you’re automatically sitting up straighter, and that because of that, your back won’t be so strained.
3. Make sure your chair is supportive
Office chairs can take their toll, so in terms of combatting back pain, make sure yours is supportive enough to keep you sitting up straight. If you find you’ve begun to feel the effects of sitting still all day, speak to your doctor or chiropractor for a pillow to attach to your chair that will target any problem areas. You’ll also find that a pillow will work to combat back pain in that it can put a healthy pressure on the muscles that hurt, in turn, ironing out (literally) any kinks.
4. Walk around
Most of our ailments come from not being active enough, so despite these being tips to do at your desk, combatting back pain can begin by just getting up. A walk to get lunch or a walk to get coffee can help re-align your back and give your muscles some much-needed exercise, so before you head to the chiropractor’s, take advantage of your coffee break to move around, stretch it out and fight that back pain off.
