Improve Your Posture: Advice for Your Office

Here at Ray Access, we are writers and editors who work long hours at our computers. Don’t get us wrong: we love what we do. But we’ve also learned a few things along the way to help us avoid back injury, unnatural curvature of the spine and other deformities as a result of spending untold hours at a keyboard.

So we present five ways to improve your posture and strengthen your back:

1. Buy a Good Chair

The best thing you can do for your back is to sit in a good quality desk chair, one that supports your lower back properly, has a height adjustment to keep your feet flat on the floor and is padded enough to be comfortable. These chairs aren’t inexpensive, we know, but we heartily endorse the investment. What you save in pain and suffering — and doctor’s bills — will make the chair seem like the bargain it is.

2. Don’t Be a Potato

Couch potatoes don’t move once they settle in. If you want to protect your spine and back muscles, you have to stay active. Shift your position every half hour or so. Lean back for a bit. Lean forward for a spell. It’s all about keeping your blood from pooling in the same spot for hours. Even if you’re sitting, you can still be active.

3. Save Your Neck

A stiff neck is an occupational hazard for computer jockeys like us. But we know how to beat it: neck stretches. Your neck moves in 360 degrees; use them. Pull your chin to your chest and hold it there. Raise your chin to the ceiling and hold it. Try to touch your shoulder with your ear, one side at a time. Do these stretches several times a day.

4. Be Aware of Your Posture

This one seems self-evident, but it’s easy to forget how you’re sitting when you’re in the midst of a project. But you can train yourself to remember. The first thing to do is find the correct posture. Don’t slouch; keep your shoulders back. When seated, your knees should be just above your hips. Your arms should fall to the keyboard without having to reach. Be comfortable. Once you know how it feels to sit right, you’ll realize it when you float out of alignment.

5. Rise to the Occasion

If you know you have a long day at the desk ahead of you, plan to get up and walk around, even if it’s just around the office, every hour. Five minutes will do, while you’re thinking. Two minutes an hour is still better than feeling chained to your computer. That little bit of movement will keep you pain-free for years.

Linda and Mark are both past age 50. Both have been doing this work for (dare we say it?) over two decades. Both of us, however, are still active. We can both garden or swing a golf club in a pinch. You can do it too. Start today, and your back will thank you for the rest of your life.

If you have any of your own posture tips, send them our way.

Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.