How To Look After Your Back When Working From Home

Ladies, we are over two months into our Third Lockdown now and I’m here to check in and ask you – how is your back? I’ve had lots of messages from clients in the last few weeks asking to be added to the waitlist for a back massage as soon as I’m allowed to re-open.

If you feel desperate for a massage right now to ease tension in your back, you are certainly not the only one. So many of us have been working (not to mention schooling) from home on and off for the best part of a year now, and it’s very likely that your back will be paying the price for not having the support of a proper office chair or an ergonomic working environment.

So, until I can see you again and work my magic melting away those knots and tight muscles, I thought I would offer you a few very simple steps to consider that might help ease that strain you’re feeling in your back:

Your Chair

Firstly – if you’re spending most of your day seated at your laptop, then check whether your chair is supportive enough. Gorgeous looking feature chairs may be eye-catching at the dining room table or kitchen counter but most aren’t designed to support our alignment and posture for an 8 hour working day. Bear in mind that our head weighs 5kg, so it’s no wonder that if our chair isn’t automatically positioning us to sit up straight, then the weight of our head when we are hunched over our laptop, is constantly putting an uncomfortable strain on our shoulder and neck muscles. If your chair isn’t naturally supporting you in a fully upright position, then try to consciously pull yourself fully upright  whenever you notice that you’re slouching. Also, if you feel that your lower back is rounding and isn’t supported enough by your chair, then use a rolled up towel for a bit of extra boost.

Your Posture

Your seated posture is affected by your chair height and seat depth, which will have a knock on effect on the angles of your hip and knee. When you’re sitting at your computer, check that your hip and knees are at 90 degree angles. You should also have a 90 degree angle at the elbow too and a neutral shoulder and wrist position so that your shoulders aren’t pushed forward. When your shoulders are forward, the neck will follow and you’ll soon find yourself hunching and putting strain on your back. Whenever you get up to make a cup of tea, use it as a chance to shake out and stretch and consciously re-set your posture as you sit back down again. Finally, don’t forget to think about your feet – ideally they should be grounded flat on the floor for full support.

Your Screen

The height of your screen is crucial to avoiding back pain. When seated your gaze should be straight ahead to avoid neck and shoulder pain. Use a couple of books to raise your screen if needs be so that your eyeline is true.

Self Care

Taking regular breaks is crucial for your back health. Set an alarm on your phone to go off every hour as a reminder to get up, move and stretch your back out – it’s also a good time to re-hydrate and get yourself a glass of water too! Keeping active in your free time will support your back health for the times when you do have to be sat at the kitchen table during the working week. Yoga and Pilates are excellent ways to strengthen your core which supports the overall health of your back. Here’s one of my absolute favourite yoga teachers with a routine to help to ease back pain and start to build strength.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phuS5VLQy8c

So ladies, I hope these super simple checkpoints help you to adjust your WFH set up so that you can avoid causing any further pain and tension building up in your back. Fingers crossed I’ll be allowed to re-open the Treatment Room doors again in April so that you can hop on the cosy heated bed and let me get my hands (or even better…hot stones!) on your tight neck, shoulders and lower back to alleviate all your WFH aches and pains. If you’re not yet on the Waitlist for a gorgeous, stress-relieving appointment but would like to be, then just drop me an email to let me know and I’ll be in touch when the time comes for me to welcome you all back again.

Missing you all, Stay Safe!

Vicky xx