With many people working from home nowadays, we often see people in our physical therapy practice that are experiencing neck, shoulder and back pain. While many businesses over the years have recognized the importance of proper work station set-ups to promote proper posture, health, and productivity in the workplace, this has often not been addressed properly for home work offices. So how do you set-up proper computer posture at home?
First, choose your workspace. If you are spending more than a couple of hours a day working on a computer for home, you need to consider setting up a work station. Working from a couch or kitchen table may work for quick jobs, but you there is no way your posture will be correct, which will increase the stress and strain in your neck, shoulders and back. So choose an area in your home that you can set-up a proper computer workstation to support your posture.
Next, choose a work surface. Most desks/work surfaces you can purchase today have a standard height of 29”-30” from floor to top of work surface. These were designed for clearance to meet the needs of 95% of the population. This height is ideal for about a 6’4” person working at a computer. Therefore, people taller or shorter than 6’4” may need to make an adjustment to help improve interaction with a home computer. If you have an existing desk that is not adjustable consider a footrest if you are shorter than 6’4”. If you are taller consider getting an adjustable height desk.
Get an adjustable chair that fits you. We recommend getting a chair that has adjustability in height, lumbar support, armrest support, and the ability to lock that back rest. A proper fitting chair will help support and encourage proper seated posture. Keep this in mind, standard model chairs generally fit people that are 5’5”-6’2”, so you will need to potentially look for a chair that better fits you if you are outside of this height range. Look to create a seated posture the encourages the “3” 90 degrees, 90 degrees at the knees, 90 degrees at the hips, and 90 degrees at the elbows.
Laptops are becoming the most common home computers, but they are poorly designed for encouraging proper posture. If you have a laptop, consider using it like a monitor and get a separate keyboard and mouse. Set the laptop on a stand that elevates the laptop monitor height to eye level. This will encourage proper head posture when engaging with the monitor, and proper hand and arm interaction with keyboard and mouse..
Take a break. Take at least hourly posture breaks. Even when you are in a good posture, static posture can cause increased muscle tension. So get up frequently to move your neck, shoulders, and back muscles. Take a few minutes every hour and get them moving.
These are some very basic hints on how you can help encourage proper computer posture at home. If you feel you need extra help, contact John Naumann at j.naumann@pritchettept.com with your home office ergonomic questions.