In the past, we’ve discussed how you should sit and what you can do to stop the pain and tension that comes with sitting at your desk all day. But have you ever thought about adjusting your office setup to help relieve the pain and tension you might be experiencing? We spoke with Dr. Harman Cherra and Dr. Andre Robitaille about applying ergonomics to your work setup. Follow along with the Healing Touch Team by watching their video below or read on for more:
Dr. Robitaille explains that it can help ease the pain in your back, shoulders, arms, and wrists if you keep a 90-degree angle at your elbows while you are typing. To do this, you may need to improve the layout of your office setup, including your keyboard placement and monitor placement.
He suggests using a keyboard tray, which is set up to be lower than a desk, allowing you the ability to keep your elbows at the 90-degree angle mentioned above. If you are unable to get a keyboard tray, he recommends sitting on a pillow on your chair to raise your body up more so your elbows can still be at the appropriate angle with your keyboard placed on the desk. If you do this, be sure to put a ream of paper or something of similar size under your monitor if your monitor doesn’t adjust up, so you aren’t looking down at the screen. Keeping your screen even with your face so you don’t have to look down is also important to relieve pain, according to the Healing Touch Team.
All in all, if you’ve been feeling discomfort while working from your office all day, it’s important to keep moving, adjust your setup so you aren’t sitting in a way that will cause problems for you later, and be sure to regularly stretch. However, if your pain is more than mild discomfort, be sure to reach out to Dr. Harman Cherra, Dr. Andre Robitaille, or any of our doctors who work on a lien basis to discuss if there’s a treatment plan that can help relieve your pain, especially if you’ve recently been injured in an accident.
