Back Care Awareness

4th–8th October saw Back Care Awareness Week, with this year’s theme being working from home, studying from home, and spending more time at home.

Studying and working from home are now more commonplace. Many universities have opted to retain a hybrid structure to their courses, where many lectures will remain online. Around 1 in 2 workers who normally worked in an office prior to March 2020 are now working from home, and, overall, just over 1 in 3 workers are currently working from home.

Working and studying from home means we no longer have a commute, we are no longer picking up documents at the printer, we are no longer walking over to a colleague to ask a quick question, and our trips to the kitchen now might be shorter. Together, this significantly reduces the amount of movement we do, which could impact our back health, to which movement, workstation set up and posture all contribute.

Be conscious of your posture

• ‘Good’ posture means standing (or sitting) tall and straight with your shoulders relaxed. Keep your head level – try not to tilt it.
• With your head straight, it weighs 4.5-5.5kg on average. However, if you lean forward by 15 degrees, this increases to over 12kg. Leaning forward by 30 degrees increases it to over 18kg. When leaning forward, this extra weight increases workload for many of the muscles that hold up the head. Over time, this can lead to some muscles elongating and weakening, and other muscles becoming shorter and tighter, leading to neck and upper back pain.
• When sitting, your ears, shoulders and hips should be aligned. And when standing, your ears, shoulders, hips and ankles should all be aligned.
• If you struggle with this, consider adding some corrective exercises into your routine.
• A good chair should support your back, promoting the natural ‘S’-shaped curve of your spine.

However, as good as your posture is, remember, our bodies are designed for movement, not to be sedentary.

Move more

Working or studying from home requires different habits to working from an office or attending school or university. As you will not be walking between meetings and classes, be aware of how much or how little you move.

Take 2-5 minutes every hour to incorporate movement into your routine:

• Walk away from your desk – this can be to make a cup of tea, to pace while thinking, or even to let the dog out.
• Stand up during a call or lecture – if you do not need your camera on and do not need to use your computer, take the opportunity to stand up or pace the room.
• Do some gentle stretches – if you absolutely cannot stand up once an hour, try doing some gentle stretches to keep your joints moving and the blood flowing to your muscles.

We have developed some simple desk-based stretches you could do to remain mobile throughout the day.

Set up your workstation correctly

An inadequate workstation set-up can cause injury to your back as desk users often adapt their posture to their set up rather than adapting their set up to their own requirements. To set up your workstation correctly and ensure good back health, follow the guidance below:

Adjust your seat height

• To avoid a strained posture, adjust the seat height so you are sat with your elbows in line with the top of the desk when your shoulders are relaxed, and your elbows are by your sides.
• Your forearms should be parallel to the floor when using the keyboard.
• Your wrist should be straight and in line with your forearms.

Screens

• The top of the screen(s) should be at eye-level. If your screen is set at a height that requires you to look up or down by physically move your head, this can put strain on your neck and upper back.
• The screen(s) should be an arms-length away. If you are struggling to see without leaning forward, move the screen closer to you or increase the font size.
• Your primary screen should be directly in front of you, with the secondary screen to your side. Whenever you need to look at a second screen, try swivelling in your chair if you can rather than turning your head.
• If multiple screens are used equally, place both screens in front, and angle them inwards.

Keep everything close

• Your keyboard should be directly in front of you with the ‘B’ key on a standard QWERTY keyboard in the centre, and the space bar should be around 5cm from the edge of the desk.
• Your mouse should be to the side of the keyboard.
• Do not stretch or twist to use anything.

To ensure you have a fully ergonomic workstation, take a look at our working from home tips.