Hello to all!
I hope that everyone is doing their best to stay healthy during these hard times.
Remember to keep on washing your hands, keeping your distance from people and wearing gloves and masks when near others.
I am writing this blog help alleviate or reduce back and neck pain. While most of us are now sitting at desks for long periods of time at home, it is imperative that we change how we are stationed at our desks. Here is an example of why this is so important.
My wife was complaining of a lot of neck and back pain. For her sitting at a desk is new. She is a teacher who was mostly on her feet at work, however, she is now at home distance teaching from her computer. I evaluated her at her workspace and saw that the set up was contributing to her pain. I raised her monitor by placing it on two thick books, and I brought her keyboard closer to her body. She is now out of pain and happily working with her students.
We can all learn from her experience and set up ergonomically correct workstations.
You can achieve this goal by doing the following.
1. First, align the height of you chair so your thighs are parallel to the floor. If your feet do not reach the floor, put a footrest or box under your feet.
2. Second, check your keyboard. It should be close to your body and your forearms should be parallel to the floor. Your elbows should be close to your side.
3. Last, the height of the monitor should be high enough that when you are looking straight ahead you should be staring close to the middle of the screen.
This is a basic set up for sitting while working on a single screen. The picture below demonstrates how to set yourself up for a healthy body. However, I feel that the monitor is too low in the picture.
If you would like for me to evaluate you at your workspace, I am available via zoom. If you have any questions, please call me at 240-361-2400 or e-mail me at robmoses.ccwc@gmail.com.
Stay Healthy
Doctor Robert K. Moses, DC