Posture and Working From Home
In light of the Coronavirus, working from home has become the new “normal”. You’ve likely went from a set up with at least a desk and a chair, or you have scrambled to put together a home office. There will also be some of you just working from the sofa I’m sure. I’m also sure most of you haven’t thought about posture, until maybe you’ve started to get a new pain in your neck or lower back whilst working.
I hope to shed some light on posture, give you an insight into its function and if there is an optimal posture. I will also give you some tips for setting up at home and also some movements to try when the aches do set in! When people think of posture they think about being told to stand up straight or don’t slouch when you are sitting but there’s so much more to it that that.
The function of posture is for our brains to ensure our head is an optimal position to keep us balanced, upright and able to see the world around us. This means that it is very much task and context specific. Posture is used to help us carry out a physical task such as standing, sitting, walking, running or reaching for example.
Because of this broad range of tasks, there is no ONE IDEAL POSTURE. It needs to be constantly varied dependent on the task at hand. The posture for each task must ensure safety, function and comfort. For example, do you spend a lot of time at your desk on a computer? Your posture will adjust to make sure you have a good view of your screen - this might mean slouching to achieve that. This doesn’t make slouching bad, it just means that it’s the best position for your body at that current time. Spend enough time there and your brain will give you the signal to move once it gets uncomfortable.
So if there is no such thing as a “good posture” then is there an optimal one? Well for most everyday tasks, there isn’t. If your posture is constantly varied based on what your individual needs are then you are on to a winner. There are times when posture does matter more, for example when we are in the gym or performing higher load activities. However for the most part, day to day then key is to be constantly varied in our movement.
Top Tips for Setting Up at Home
If you can, have a dedicated work station at a desk with a chair- this makes it easier for you to adjust positions regularly. Things to adjust would be seat heat or incline if you can, screen height, keyboard or mouse position, you could even stand for a period of time or head off for a walk. You could set a timer for every hour to remind you to adjust or go through some of the movements in the video below. This means that you don’t stay in the same position for 2-3 hours, by which time you may have a developed a pain in your neck, which is your cue to move. We want to beat that!
Keep hydrated - of course this has a myriad of other benefits however it’s also a great cue for you to get up when you need to go for the bathroom, this keeping you moving.
Stick to your normal work schedule - it’s easy to get caught up and work longer than you normally would. Schedule your breaks at the same time as you would have them at work - again these keep us on the move by forcing to go get a coffee or something to eat.
Movements to Increase Blood Flow to Key Areas
In the short video I show you three of my favourite movements for getting things moving after a period of sitting still;
3 Rounds of;
Seated Forward Fold - Perform 20 deep nasal breaths in this position
Wall Hold Rotations - 10 per side
Lunge with Side Flexion - 10 reps total
RYAN BARR
PHYSIOTHERAPIST / ARISTOS INDIVIDUAL DESIGN COACH / UKSCA STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING COACH
Work With Ryan
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