Top 5 Ways to Protect Yourself at Work

Just this week, I had several patients complain about aches and pains caused by their work environment. Here are the top easy adjustments I suggest:

1. Phone books are old school - but find something of similar thickness, put it under your desk, and use it to elevate your feet to protect your lowback.

2. Protect your wrists! Make sure that when your forearms are parallel to the ground, your wrists can be slightly flexed for comfortable typing

3. To avoid eye strain and neck cramps make sure you can look straight at the upper 1/3 of your screen without tipping your head

4. Takes breaks. We're all busy, but make sure to walk away from your desk at least every 15 minutes (set an alarm if you have to) and look away from your screen to let your eyes refocus even more often

5. Posture, posture, posture - head up, shoulders back, hips higher than knees and ... breathe!

One site that I love to use is Human Scale it is great for getting the scoop on making your work space perfect for you!