In need of a little restyling of our office, TOAD asked a chiropractor in to make our workplace more ergonomically friendly. The results were remarkable.
Given that we spend more than a third of our waking hours each week at our office desks, it seems ludicrous not to invest a little in our surroundings, of only for the benefit of our health. Feeling aches in our backs, shoulders, hips and hands motivated us to get a specialist’s opinion, so we asked chiropractor Dr Steven Marsland of the Canadian Medical Centre to come and look over our workplace.
Our office personnel includes a few different shapes, sizes and bad habits, so we asked for a run down for each member of staff. We also asked for a few exercises to do, because we are very static when not out and about on the streets of Abu Dhabi.
One of the first pieces of advice from Dr Steve is regarding chairs that don’t have much lumbar support. ‘If your office chairs don’t have much in the way of back support, maybe roll up a jumper or piece of material to give your spine that bit extra,’ he recommends. For an aching back, Dr Steve recommends sitting back in your chair and doing stretches each hour to loosen the muscles up.
Next up is our computer monitors which all get a bit of adjustment – some are too low and some too high. ‘The top of the screen should be at your eye level,’ he explains as he tilts the screen back at the top, to help open our neck. ‘When your eye level is at the top of the screen, you then want to tilt the monitor slightly upwards; it means you keep your neck in a neutral position. If it’s lower, you will find your neck is slightly down which can cause a bit of neck ache.’
We are guilty of curling our legs under us and sitting on our foot, which is not beneficial at all, we are told. ‘It’s better not to do this. It puts pressure on the back and changes the curve of the spine.’
When looking at our desks, Dr Steve says ‘It’s about finding a balance between the desk height and the chair height – you want an angle at the hip that is greater than 90-degrees, so your knees should be 90-degrees. And with the right desk height your arms should be resting horizontal.’
He evaluates our seated position, recommending keeping our legs un-crossed. ‘Generally crossing your legs isn’t good – it puts pressure on your hips. Rather, put pressure on the back-rest and rest your feet flat on the floor – try not to cross your legs.’
One of our team is pregnant, so we asked Dr Steve advice about that. Pregnancy comes with aches and pains, there’s no surprise there, but for pains that come above the bump, Dr Steve recommends using a gym ball. ‘You literally can’t slouch with one, it’s impossible. This will help your posture, though only use it for an hour or so a day,’ Dr Steve says.
For the regular phone users in our office, Dr Steve recommends a head-set. Our phone is on the wrong side and talking on the phone a lot can cause neck problems.
After one week, the team are still taking regular mini-breaks and have better posture. Backs and necks are straight and we all feel better for it.
Dr Steven Marsland is a Chiropractor at Canadian Medical Center, www.canadianmc.com (02 446 9006).
Tips from Dr Steve
• Give yourself a micro-break for one or two minutes each 40 minutes to an hour.
• Ensure your monitor is at the correct height; your eyes should be at the top of your screen.
• Your chair should allow your feet to sit flat on the floor, your hips open at a bigger than 90-degree angle and your elbows should rest, open on the desk.
• The phone should be on the side of the hand you write with.
• Keep hydrated – a bottle of water at your desk is recommended.
• If you type often and feel pain in your arms, consider a wrist support for the keyboard.
Exercises to try
Posture reset position
Sit on the edge of your chair, with knees slightly apart and feet flat on the ground. Sit upright with your back slightly arched and stretch your arms down and out with palms facing forward. Take three deep breaths in this position.
Scapular retractions
Raise the arms to shoulder level, so they are parallel with the floor. Without hunching the shoulders, squeeze your shoulder-blades together. Hold for five seconds.
Neck stretch
This one is good for typers and people that get neck pain. Relax your arm down one side and tilt the head away from the arm, stretching your neck. Hold this for ten seconds on each side.
