Office jobs may not be as physically demanding as field jobs, but the discomforts of being at your cubicle all day are definitely just as real. If left unaddressed, the body aches and soreness resulting from long hours of sitting can affect your overall productivity and endanger your health. In this article, we’ve rounded up some common aches and pains that trouble desk job employees, and what can be done about them:
Leg Pain
Whenever you sit for too long, the blood circulation in your legs and feet can become compromised, causing cramps and discomfort. While the simplest solution is to stretch and move your legs from time to time, another way to ensure good circulation in your lower body is to use compression socks.
That being said, you don’t necessarily need medical-grade compression socks for everyday use. The best compression socks for you are those that suit your sense of fashion and provide just the right amount of pressure to your lower limbs.
In addition to investing in specialized socks, you should also make sure that your current desk setup is ergonomic and that you’re maintaining good posture. For one, your feet should easily touch the ground, with the soles flat against the floor. If your chair is designed in such a way that it lifts your feet off of the ground, consider using a footrest to keep your feet in the desired neutral position.
Back Pain
A commonly shared complaint among desk job workers everywhere, back pain usually results from sitting still for long periods. The simplest solution to avoid back pain is to take multiple breaks throughout the day so you can stand up and walk around from time to time. Stretching every once in a while is also a great way to reduce the tension that can develop in your muscles.
If you're working from home, another solution you can try is a standing desk, a type of office furniture that can be adjusted from a sitting-level position to a standing-level one or vice versa whenever you want. This will give you a chance to switch up your body’s position now and then, as a few periods of standing can help straighten your back and strengthen your legs. The best standing desks Canada has to offer can easily be found online.
An ergonomic chair also works wonders for relieving back pain and preventing it from worsening. The ideal posture for the back is at 100 to 110 degrees, where your upper body is slightly reclining on the back of the chair as opposed to sitting straight at a 90-degree angle. So, try to find a chair that can support your back given this ideal position.
If the chair has armrests, make sure it still allows you to relax your shoulders and arms. Otherwise, your shoulders may end up being stuck in a tense, stiff position for hours, which can contribute to neck, upper back, and shoulder pain.
Wrist Pain
Many office workers complain about experiencing wrist pain due to typing away at their computers for most of the day. This is because the repetitive finger and wrist movements associated with typing can lead to the compression of the median nerve. This, in turn, can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome, a condition that presents as numbness and tingling of the hands.
To address this type of pain, make sure that your keyboard and mouse are positioned such that your forearms are parallel to the floor and your wrists are at the same level as your fingers when you type. Every few hours or days, try switching to using the mouse with your non-dominant hand to give your dominant hand some much-needed rest.
Neck Pain
Office workers commonly experience neck pain due to how long they tend to look at their screens, and this can be exacerbated if their monitors are positioned at an awkward angle.
One solution is to position the top of the screen at eye level, whether by adjusting the level of the screen itself or the height of your chair. You may also adjust the distance between you and your monitor so that the text on the screen is easily readable without being too close nor too far away.
Studies have also found that, similar to back pain, neck pain may be brought about by sitting for long periods at work. This is because sitting for most of the day increases pressure on the spine as well as its surrounding muscles and ligaments. This means that addressing your back pain could potentially work wonders for addressing your neck pain, hitting two birds with one stone.
Working is a part of life, but the pain from it shouldn’t be. We have gone through five common types of desk job pain as well as some tips on how to relieve and avoid them. We hope that this article gave you some practical pointers that you can use in your day-to-day office life.
