This was published 4 years ago
A step-by-step guide to ensuring your home office isn't injuring your body
Welcome to Live Well, a regular series exploring questions on personal health, fitness and nutrition. As we navigate our new lives at home, Live Well seeks to offer practical tips and expert advice for a smarter, more empowered life.
Of those who have been fortunate enough to be able to work remotely during the pandemic, chances are your home was not quite prepared to become your full-time office.
Whether you’re tapping away at that desk you panic-bought, you’re sitting at the kitchen table with the kids or you’re sneaking off to the couch, physiotherapist Luke Pickett says it’s important to consider how you are positioning your body.
You don't want to end up in pain from poor workstation ergonomics.Credit: iStock
Pickett says his practice, Melbourne Physio Clinic, has seen a doubling in patients with work-related injuries since lockdown. He says there was a spike in patients in late March when people were transitioning to working from home, and now he’s seeing a new surge as injuries set in.
“We’re actually getting the true fallout now of poor ergonomic positions,” he says.
It’s why he’s encouraging people to examine their setups and apply ergonomic principles at their home workstation – and eventually, back at the office – as much as they can.
Your posture
As comfortable as it may be to veg out on the couch, Pickett says, sitting is actually compromising the body’s most ergonomic position of standing upright. And considering most of us spend a huge chunk of our day sitting – research shows Australian adults sit for an average of 10 hours a day – it’s important to get it right.
Seated at your workstation, Pickett says you want to aim for 90-degree angles at your ankles, knees, hips and elbows. “It is key to start at the hips and then stack the head on the neck, the neck on the upper back and then the whole spine should be centred over the pelvis,” he says. “This will make a vertical line from the top of the head through to the centre of the pelvis.”
Then, Pickett says, you want your knees and torso to form a 90-degree angle, and the same with your ankles and feet, with your feet flat on the ground (you might need a foot rest).
Your elbows, too, should form a right angle, with your shoulders in a relaxed position and forearms resting on the desk, he says. And your wrists should also be relaxed, with your hands slightly raised and curved on your mouse and keyboard.
Your seat
Once you’re positioned in your chair, aiming for those right angles we’ve spoken about, Pickett says it’s about “subtly softening those angles”. For example, with an adjustable office chair, offload your hip joints by slightly tilting the base of the chair so the front end moves down by a centimetre or two, putting your knees slightly lower than your thighs. You can also slightly tilt the upper back of the chair backwards so it’s not quite vertical, roughly 3-5 centimetres back.
We’re actually getting the true fallout now of poor ergonomic positions.
Luke Pickett, physiotherapist, Melbourne Physio Clinic
At home, Pickett says it’s important to use a chair with at least a back rest. “The higher the back of the chair goes up, the less likely you are to slump,” he says.
Deb Sutherland, chair of the occupational health group at the Australian Physiotherapy Association, recommends using a cushion if you need to raise your position at a table, to pad your seat, to raise your thighs or to support your lower back. Use a box or books for a footrest if your seat is too high.
For those strong enough, using a fitness ball is great for maintaining core strength. “This does take time to build the endurance,” Pickett says. He recommends starting with two 30 minute stints in the morning and afternoon, and gradually increasing.
And when it comes to working from the couch, Pickett says you should avoid it. But if it’s really too enticing, keep the session to less than 30 minutes.
Your screen
A good rule of thumb is to position your screen so that the top is at your eye level. Your eyeline will then fall slightly below this, “approximately at nose to chin level on the screen,” Pickett says. This is the area on the screen you should be mostly working in. If you prefer to work lower on the screen, then lift the screen higher.
The same logic applies with positioning oversized screens (21 inches or larger) – your eyes should be level with the top of the space that you primarily work within on the screen. Pickett warns it’s especially important with larger screens because they compel you to move your head instead of just your eyes.
Other factors? The screen should be about 40-60 centimetres from your face, Pickett says, and it should also be slightly tilted so the bottom is coming towards you, only by about 10-20 degrees.
If you use two screens, Pickett recommends determining approximately how much time you spend on each. If you work 75 per cent of the time on one screen, then you’d centre that one and pop the other to the side. If you more evenly split your time between screens, then you’d position them side-by-side with your nose in line with the inner edges of each screen.
And try to avoid working predominantly from a laptop. “It’s impossible to work ergonomically,” Pickett says.
Your desk
Keep in mind that you want your work surface to be at the height of your elbows, or slightly below, says Sutherland. Too high, and it will require you to raise your arms and shoulders, potentially causing discomfort or injury; too low (such as a coffee table) and the sustained forward-bending can harm your neck.
You want a desk that is large and deep enough to fit your equipment comfortably, as well as your forearms. Also make sure you are not seated too far from the desk, otherwise you’ll be carrying the weight of your out-stretched arms.
And given being upright is the ergonomic gold standard, Pickett is all for the standing desk, even a DIY one made up with books or an ironing board. “I’ve seen some great home renditions,” Pickett says. The challenge is getting the screen stacked up at the correct eyeline height with the keyboard at the right 90-degree elbow level.
Your mouse and keyboard
Your keyboard’s position will be relative to your elbow’s position. “Your elbow is below your shoulder and then your elbow is at 90 degrees and wherever your fingers lay, that should be the centre of the keyboard where you’re typing,” Pickett says. He adds that your index fingers should be able to comfortably reach the keys “G” and “H”.
The mouse should be positioned immediately to the side of the keyboard and subtly closer to you, by about two centimetres, to enable you to reach it comfortably.
Don't forget to move
Your body's work position may be optimised to perfection, but don't get too comfortable. It's vital to break up any prolonged sitting. So, Pickett recommends hitting pause on your work for a few minutes throughout your day to get up and move. Do some stretching, get down into some squats, walk around your home – anything to get those joints and muscles moving. There are mental benefits too, Pickett says, as movement gets the blood pumping to your brain.