Is Your Work Space Working Against You?

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I am now five weeks into twice-weekly physical therapy for a shoulder impingement. Since I was active in CrossFit, tennis, softball, and yoga, I assumed that either a sudden or gradual shoulder injury could have happened due to any one, or any combination, of these activities.What I was not expecting, was to learn that my injury was, at minimum, a partial result of my work station.  

Like an increasing number of desk-sentenced folks I have a multi-monitor set-up. As you can see, I also often have one or more documents directly in front of me with a sliding keyboard tray and mouse rest.  Since I use two monitors, this small mouse rest is typically not big enough for me to scroll from the left monitor to the right in one motion, and putting down the mouse mid-sweep is very inefficient.  This caused me to keep the mouse directly on the desk.  However, then I was reaching the full distance across the keyboard to use it.

 One of the first things my physical therapist asked me to do was to have someone photograph me sitting at my desk. He could tell immediately my work space posture was part of my problem and why my recovery, despite taking several weeks off of activity, was not progressing.

  

Notice the space between me and the back of the chair, and that my arms/elbows are unsupported. This hunched position was forcing my shoulders forward and creating further impingement. I have since made some adjustments as part of my rehab plan and have generally become more cognizant of my posture and the way I move/use my body during the day.

   

Let's review some tips about workplace posture:  

OSHA recommends the following:

• Hands, wrists, and forearms are straight, in-line and roughly parallel to the floor
• Shoulders are relaxed and upper arms hang normally to the side of the body 
• Elbows stay in close and are bent between 90 and 120 degrees (like a Dinosaur!) 
• Feet are supported by the floor or a footrest
• Back is fully supported when sitting vertical or leaning back slightly
• Seat and hips are fully supported by a well-padded seat and are generally parallel to the floor
• Knees are about the same height as hips  

This means no sitting on one leg, or sitting cross-legged in your chair. Avoid slouching or leaning to one armrest. If you are bound to a chair all day, be sure to get up and stretch or walk around on a regular basis.
 
The jury seems to still be out on using an exercise ball in lieu of a chair. I'm in no way an expert on the subject but it seems that what you gain in core activation you lose in back support. I know that I always seem to have a difficult time keeping good posture when there is no back support....think bar stool...however perhaps that's due to another reason entirely :) 

I encourage you all to take a minute today, or next week if you're already home and hunkered down for the blizzard, to really think about your work space and if it's working with or against your health and fitness goals. Benefits of perfect form at the gym can easily be undone by poor form at work.