Reducing Neck and Back Pain at Work

The modern age has brought plenty of advancements and positive things. However, it seems like there is one thing we have regressed at – our posture. Because the modern man spends hours of his/her day slouched over a computer, he/she has become no stranger to neck and back pain. If you find your pain being so intense that you can’t carry out your daily activities, then the time has come to do something about it. Reducing neck and back pain at work doesn’t have to be a pain in the neck. In fact, there are many back pain exercises that you can do just about anywhere – including your cubicle.

How common is neck and back pain nowadays?

The answer is a simple one – extremely common. Research shows that up to 75% of people will experience neck and back pain at some point in their lives. Sometimes, back and neck pain originate out of nowhere. However, how long it will persist is something that is mostly up to you. If you are doing office work where you are constantly sitting at your desk and spending hours in a sedentary position, then you definitely run the risk of experiencing this type of pain.

Even though back and neck pain isn’t something that is usually life-threatening, one can’t argue with the fact that this condition is extremely unpleasant. The good news is that there are a few simple things you can do in order to minimize your chances of developing these pains. And we here at Dubai PT are about to show exactly what you can do.

Simple tricks that work wonders at reducing neck and back pain at work

You don’t need to be an expert in physical therapy nor do you need to make any kind of a huge investment. These simple tricks work wonders precisely because they are easy to implement yet have impressive results.

Keep an eye on your posture

Bad posture is the number one reason why you are having neck and back pain in the first place. Especially if you maintain that bad posture from nine-to-five every single day. So how can you practice bad posture that will keep you out of trouble? Always sit with your feet flat on the floor and your back against the chair. Bear in mind that your head should be in a neutral position where your ears will be above your shoulders. In other words, keep your back straight, making sure your neck stays in its designated place.

If you have suffered from bad posture for some time, then you might experience difficulty maintaining a good posture at first. And if you find your posture is so bad that you are in constant pain, don’t hesitate to turn to a physical therapist and/or fitness trainers in Dubai who can help you leave your sedentary lifestyle in the past.

Get up more

Seeing a person sitting at their desk and work seems simple. But prolonged sitting is actually quite physically exhausting. No wonder you feel so tired and achy at the end of your workday. One very good solution to put an end to that feeling is standing at least an hour or two a day. That is the reason why standing desks have become quite popular nowadays. But if you don’t have one in your office, you can always invest in cheap desktop converters that would make it possible to convert your regular desk into a sitting one when you want to. You will do yourself a lot of good even if you spend only an hour of your nine-to-five life standing as opposed to sitting.

Stretch your legs every thirty minutes

Even if you keep a good posture and spend some of your time standing, you can still develop neck and back pain. Walking around your office for a minute or two will do wonders when it comes to reducing neck and back pain. So feel free to get up and stretch your legs as soon as you start feeling tightness in your back. You can also set a timer every 30 minutes to remind you to get up and walk around.

Of course, these few minutes of walking shouldn’t be the only time you move your body throughout the day. Our Dubai personal trainers know how important physical exercise is for your overall health. That is why we always recommend you do a workout after work, at least a couple of times during the week.

Adjust your computer

All of the previously mentioned things won’t do much for you if the placement of your work equipment is off. You need to adjust your computer and keyboard in such a way that they make it easy for you to keep the right posture. Therefore:

• Make sure your monitor is directly in front of you, with the center of the screen at the same level as your nose.
• Place your keyboard at the level in which your elbows will be bent 90 degrees when typing.
• Put your mouse at the same level.

In case you work on a laptop, it would be a good idea to use a secondary monitor. But if that’s not the option, then make sure you experiment with the placement of the laptop to see which position works best for you. It seems like an awful lot of work for preventing and reducing neck and back pain at work. However, if you want to lead a healthy lifestyle in old age, you need to take these measures of precaution seriously. Being active and moving around will be impossible if you have debilitating pain in your neck and back area. And whether you will have it or not will be decided by what you do in youth.