Darrick Robles Office workers sit at their desks for around 80,000 hours over the course of their lives. They often stay in the same position for hours, their heads tilted towards the screen, their shoulders cramped. When you sit for a long time, certain muscles are stressed on one side, while other muscles break down. The consequences can be poor posture, for example if the intervertebral discs flatten or the skeleton deforms.
Our bodies aren’t actually made for sitting for 8 hours at a time. Studies show: Who sits a lot and for a long time has an increased risk of high blood pressure , obesity , high blood sugar and cholesterol levels. In addition, there is back pain due to the one-sided strain on the spine. Working from home can encourage poor posture, as not everyone has the ideal desk and office chair at home.
5 healthy back routines for the home office
Luckily, there are many ways you can prevent poor posture, lack of exercise and unwelcome back problems from working from home. These simple routines can be incorporated into your daily routine even when you’re short on time. It’s all a matter of habit!
1. Stretch and stretch regularly
A recent study shows that people who sit a lot suffer from lower back pain more often – and are more likely to be affected by mental disorders. The best countermeasure is to bring more movement into your everyday life. It doesn’t have to be a 90-minute yoga session. It is important that you can do the exercises every day.
You can easily integrate these mini workouts for in between into your everyday life:
- Shoulder circles: Stand up straight and keep your head straight. Roll your shoulders forward 5 times and then backwards 5 times. The arms hang loosely down. This exercise loosens and strengthens your neck, chest and shoulder girdle.
- Prone paddling: Lie on your stomach, look down, keep your neck straight, and stretch out your arms and legs. Move your arms and legs up and down at the same time as if you were paddling for 15 to 30 seconds. This exercise strengthens your back muscles.
- Cat and Cow: Get on all fours, keep your back straight. Inhale slowly, stretching your chest forward and arching your back gently. Then exhale and crouch back. Repeat the exercise 8 to 12 times in rhythm with your breathing to get movement in your spine.
2. Take breather breaks for your back
If you work a lot at your desk, give your body a break every now and then. Walk across the room on the phone or hold meetings standing up. In this way, the body that has become accustomed to sitting for a long time gets the well-deserved change. You get your circulation going and loosen tense muscles.
Try to incorporate a short exercise break into your home office day every 45 minutes. Every new movement and changed posture activates new muscles and promotes blood circulation. In this way, you can prevent unused muscles from gradually atrophying.
3. Targeted improvement of posture
At the moment it looks like the home office situation will remain with us for a while. Think about making your workspace more ergonomic:
- Ideally, use an adjustable office chair to find the optimal sitting position.
- When you’re sitting up straight, your forearms should be able to rest at right angles to the table.
- Your feet should be flat on the floor (or on a footrest).
- The top of your screen should be at eye level and about an arm’s length away. Use a monitor stand if necessary. This is healthier than constantly bending your neck.
- If you talk on the phone a lot, you should n’t hold the phone to your ear all the time . Because the head is often tilted to one side when using the phone, ligaments and joints on the other side can be overstretched. Use headphones or a headset to prevent neck pain.
4. Bring in dynamics
It’s best if you find a way to alternate sitting and standing work. A height-adjustable desk attachment does a good job here.
If you absolutely cannot avoid sitting, you should change up your sitting position. For example, you can sit up straight, bend forward more, lean backwards or to the side. This promotes blood circulation, activates your muscles and the intervertebral discs are better supplied with nutrients. Changing positions works particularly well if your chair has a flexible backrest.
5. Lunch break? Go outside!
Spring is here and at home enough people are already falling on their heads. Use your break to do a few laps around the block or through the park. Skip the delivery service and get your own food. Every walk in the fresh air, no matter how short, relaxes your muscles and supplies your brain with oxygen. Your back (and not only that) will thank you!
What to do if the back problems are already there?
Back pain is very common – around 80% of people will experience it at some point in their lives. Fortunately, they usually subside within a few weeks. You can find out how you can alleviate your symptoms and when you should see a doctor in our SOS tips for back pain .
