When the spine is in its neutral posture, our bodies are in the strongest and most injury-resistant position. That’s when our low back muscles are at the optimal length and when the facet joints of the spine are in their middle position which allows them to help distribute compression forces away from your disks. But how do you know if you’re standing or sitting correctly?

The easiest way to check your standing position is with the help of a long stick. Stand tall and place a stick along your back. The stick should touch your head, your upper back and your tailbone. If you’re standing correctly, you should be able to fit your hand between the stick and your lower back, while at the same time keeping your head up. Sitting however is a totally different story. Most people when seated tend to slouch and this posture can be fine if it’s only sustained for a short period of time, however prolonged and excessive slouching can stretch your ligaments. That’s why we have rest the spine to rest and let it adjust to its neutral posture.

Since we spend an enormous amount of time in a sitting position (some of us more than others ) often-times we face problems with our backs, joints and bodies in general. But in order to keep spines healthy, below we have listed three simple tips.

An Ergonomic Back Support For Better Office Days

The ergonomic back support products properly align your neck, shoulders and pelvis to avoid possible pain and keep your spine in neutral position. So if you’re working in an office or you just want to correct your bad sitting habits, investing in a proper ergonomic back support can be an important first step towards a healthier back. These practical belts are specially designed to protect and support strained muscles and you can wear them under your clothing at work, at home or when working out at the gym.

Make Sure You Lift Heavy Stuff Correctly

Improperly lifting heavy items can put your lower back and your muscles in abnormal position that may lead to pain in your spine and back. Worst case scenario, when lifting heavy things improperly you’ll have an increased risk of causing your spinal joints and disks to rupture. When lifting, especially heavy items, make sure you keep your chest forward and lead with your hips rather than with the shoulders. Also don’t forget to activate your knees to help your body handle the weight easier.

Exercise And Stretch For A Healthier Back

We all know how important being active is if you want to stay in shape, but did you know that lack of exercising can also lead to muscle, joint and spine pain? We are made to move and that way our body needs some stretching and sweating every now and then, so turning to Pilates, yoga or good old jogging will bring undeniable benefits to your body shape, your muscles and of course to your back and spine as well.

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• The Use of Excessive Force

  This can include anything from lifting heavier loads, pushing or pulling heavy objects, manually moving heavy material, maintaining or controlling equipment or tools. These are all considered to be excessive force if performed on a daily basis.

• Repetitive Tasks

  If the employees are performing the same motions over and over again over an extended period of time, there could be at risk of them developing chronic pain in the areas of the body that they are constantly using.

• Sitting or Working in Awkward Positions

  If this goes on for longer periods of time, the awkward positions place stress on the body which in the short term is not that bad but repetitively can have long term effects. Some of these positions may include reaching above your shoulder height, kneeling, squatting, leaning over, bending the wrists, or twisting the torso often.

• Using the Body to Apply Pressure to Items

  In certain working environments the employees find themselves in a situation when they must use one of the hands as a hammer or another type of tool and this can stress the whole body tremendously, since the pressure applied comes from gathering force from the body as a whole.

• Temperature

  Although minor, this factor can also have impact on the body, especially cooler temperatures. While it’s not enough on its own, in combination with something else it can make it easier for MSD to develop and progress.

• Vibrations

  This is yet another another risk that many people don’t think about. If you have constant vibrations on your hands you could easily damage the capillaries that can make your hands harder to control. Vibrations can have an effect on the whole body and not just the hands or arms.

Any combination of the factors mentioned above poses even a greater risk of suffering injuries.

While some of these may happen more often in an office environment and some may not, it is important to know how to prevent them from happening in the first place. While you can go in depth and research all the different aspects of ergonomics in the workplace including desk and chair ergonomics, today we will just touch on the basics of how you can prevent some of these risks at an office job.

The most common risk in an office environment is repetitive movements. In order to help ease this, you can get the employees to try switching up tasks, taking a few breaks, stretching as often as possible and provide lower back support. Safety should come first, so hopefully after reading this article you feel more able to integrate these tips into your work environment and prevent workplace injuries.

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