- Every 45min of sitting, take a mini-break for 2min and walk around to stop the back muscles from fatiguing. Prevention is better than cure! This will stop postural fatigue and pain from overloaded ligaments and muscles.
- Check your back angle when sitting- see the picture below.
- Do “The Marble Test” on your car seat to test if your car seat is stressing your back. Place a marble on the front part of your driver’s seat- if the marble rolls backwards down to the back-rest, your car seat “FAILS”. If the marble stays where it is your car seat “Passes”. When the front part of the seat pad of a chair is higher than the back part of the seat pad, this forces the lumbar spine to slouch and compresses the discs. Use a seating wedge to correct this.
- Use a lumbar roll in the small of the back (at waist level) to maintain the lumbar lordosis- this is the natural arch in the small of the back and reduces pressure on the lumbar discs.
- Sit tall in your chair with your chin slightly tucked in- this minimizes the “poking chin” posture that so many adopt when in front of a computer screen.
- Square yourself up to the computer keyboard and screen, or the steering wheel of the car. Do not sit in a twisted
position. - Your feet should be flat on the floor with your ankles beneath your knees. This gives a good foundation of support for the lower back and stops stress to the calf muscles.
- Your knees should be slightly lower than your hips and your bottom should be to the back of the seat- this enables the optimum back angle of 100 to 110 degrees.
- Avoid low, deep sofas as this decreases the back angle and pressure in the spine.
- If you are having pain regularly while sitting- come and see us at our Hendon or East Finchley High Street Clinics for postural assessment, advice and treatment.
BOOST PHYSIO in Hendon NW4 and East Finchley N2 is a leading physiotherapy clinic specialising in all musculo-skeletal injuries and conditions. We are open 8am-9pm and on Sundays too! Call us on 020 8201 7788.
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