There’s a famous art museum that spirals upwards on a gentle incline, making you feel like you’re in a colossal washing machine. The floor not only rises as you move up through the exhibition spaces, but also tilts subtly outward at the white walls. A surreal and logistical nightmare, no doubt, for the curators that have to install artwork on the also-curved walls.
Aesthetics aside, I ponder whether there are any repercussions of standing on an inclined surface all day? It’s rumoured that art security guards at the museum complained of low back pain caused by years of working on uneven floors. I wasn’t able to verify this claim, but the principles of ergonomics suggest there would be an impact on the musculoskeletal system over an extended period of time.
Your workplace ergonomics probably aren’t that bad, but they’re probably not great either.
During Covid-19, companies that enabled employees to work from home (at least in Australia) legally required you to do a “Home office ergonomic self-assessment.” This was presumably to cover their own backsides. And let’s face it, your impromptu desk-slash-couch-slash-dining-table workstation probably didn’t tick the traditional ergonomic boxes.
The thing I know now is there’s no such thing as one ‘good posture’ and an ergonomic chair isn’t gonna change that.
I learned this the hard way. In 2021 I was diagnosed with bone stress in my hip. For those that don’t know, bone stress is the precursor to a stress fracture. If you continue to load the joint the injury can progress into a stress fracture, or worse.
I was referred to one of the top female sports doctors in Melbourne. Her conclusion? It was coming from my back and bad posture was exacerbating it. The solution? Replace my office chair with a swiss ball. Once I got off crutches, I could walk up to 15 minutes per day only. Also, no sitting on the couch. No lying on the couch. Nothing to do with the couch. Bad posture, remember?
So with the couch off limits, I diligently sat on my swiss ball. Perfect posture, shoulders back, pelvis tucked under. Each muscle carefully engaged.
But my low back pain got worse.
How was this possible when I was doing everything right? It was only when I was talking to another physio, that I got my answer. The human body is designed to relax. It’s designed to bend and flex and move through different postures throughout the day. Just like the workers at the museum had back problems when they stood on an incline for 8 hours, I had problems because I held the so-called ‘perfect posture’ for 8 hours.
So how can you improve your workspace ergonomics to prevent injury?
There was a recent study that showed that ergonomic chairs are not conducive to good posture.
Your best posture is your next posture. That is to say; the best posture is dynamic. Sitting for 8 hours isn’t good, but neither is standing for 8 hours (I’m looking at you - rising desk).
So what’s a professional sitter to do?
At a desk, most of our work is done in the frontal plane. That is - shoulders, head and hands in front of the midline of the body. Strength training can mitigate some of this, but not all of it.
Fortunately there is a simple way to manage it. Desk mobility exercises are easy to do and you only need 5-10 minutes at a time. For true prevention, do some movement every 2 - 3 hours
If you’re reading this at your desk, I encourage you to try these out now.
We’re going to do some wrist and hand mobility, hip mobility, shoulder exercises, upper back and neck exercises together.
If your hips allow it. Come into a low lunge. While you’re here, start to slowly circle your wrists, x 10 in each direction. Change legs. Now extend your arms out by your side, palms facing the back wall. If your body allows it, reach all the way back and interlace your fingers.You’ll feel a stretch across the front of the shoulders and between the scapula in the upper back. Hold here for 10 seconds.
Coming up to standing. Tilt your head to the right, ear toward right shoulder. Hold it here for 10 seconds. Breathe. Same on the other side. 10 seconds. Breathe.
These small movements don’t require much time or any equipment. It’s as simple as that.
*This is general advice only. If pain persists or you have any injuries please consult your physio or allied health professional before undertaking any of these exercises.
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