Maintaining a Healthy Spine in a Static Environment

By Sandy Sher

Do you ever feel like you are bending over backwards to read your computer?

The human body is an amazing vehicle, it is designed to bend, extend, walk, run, jump, lift, push, pull, rotate and many other movements. Yet a lot of us just sit at work for 8-12+ hours per day staring into a computer.

I used to work in the banking industry in the occupational rehabilitation unit. People used to laugh and ask me what sort of injury can people sustain when sitting at a computer??? But I used to receive hundreds of incident forms a year with people in desk jobs complaining of back and neck pain. I think the point I am trying to get across is that the human body was designed to move and not sit for hours on end staring into a computer.

Some of the main reasons people may experience back and neck pain whilst working from a desk are;

• Poor posture
• Poor ergonomics of their workstation set up
• Reduced activity levels and deconditioned bodies
• Short and tight muscles
• Long periods of static postures
• Inadequate nutrition and hydration

So here are my tips in ensuring a health spine whilst working in a static environment;

• Make sure you are changing your posture on a regular basis at work. That is every 30-40 minutes. This does not mean you need to walk away from your desk but simply stand up and stretch for a few second
• Stretch regularly throughout your working day
• Have your workstation set up assessed by your companies OHS consultant or even better ask for information and education on setting up your own workstation.
• Be active outside of work and perform exercises that encourage you to sit with a better posture throughout the day.
• Take a lunch break and go for a walk to stretch out your legs and get the blood flowing.
• Eat nutritional healthy food and drink plenty of water throughout the day.

Sandy Sher is an accredited Exercise Physiologist who provides exercise and wellbeing programs for health and fitness and rehabilitation purposes. For further information on the services sandy can offer please visit www.live2bewell.com.au or email your enquiry to sandy@live2bewell.com.au