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Prevent Back Pain While Sitting at Your Desk

Happy Administrative Professionals Day! In honor of all of the desk dwellers out there we would like to share a few tips on how to prevent back pain while sitting at a desk for hours at a time.

1. Posture, posture, posture! – remember your mom snapping at you to sit up straight as a child? Mom had it right—improper posture can put too much stress on your neck and back causing back pain. According to Spine-Health.com, “good posture” generally means your ears, shoulders, and hips are in a straight line. Make it a habit to frequently ask yourself, “How’s my posture?” and correct yourself if you catch yourself slouching.

2. Get up and move – As your muscles tire from sitting at your desk, you’ll start to slouch and slump which puts extra pressure on your neck and back. To avoid this change positions frequently and move. Take a break every half an hour and stand up to stretch, pace around your desk when thinking, or take phone calls standing up. Get creative and get moving!

3. Invest in a good ergonomic chair It’s all about the chair! An ergonomic chair is intended to provide comfort and help you avoid stress and injury. Be sure to look for features like adjustable seat height, lumbar support, and a back rest that supports the natural curve of your spine.

4. Stretch – here are a couple of simple stretches you can do to help ease back pain:

• Roll your shoulders back in slow circles. This will release any tension you’ve been holding in your neck.

• Reach your hands towards the sky and bend side to side, just like you do when you wake up. This stretch will help awaken your muscles.

• Contract your shoulders forward and let you stomach suck in. From there, do the opposite and push your chest out. This is similar to the cat and cow postures in yoga. You will immediately feel relief in your back with these stretches.

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