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Spending the majority of our lives at work can have a big impact on both physical and mental health, so it’s important to find ways to stay active during those hours. Unfortunately, many desk jobs leave us sitting for extended periods which can lead to concerning side effects such as back pain, muscle degeneration or even heart disease.
In fact, lower back pain is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. Urgent care doctors from Nao Medical offer some tips that will help you maintain your wellbeing while ensuring productivity in the office remains high.
7 Tips to avoid back pain
- Take hourly breaks. Every hour, get up from your desk and go for a quick walk anywhere (furthest room, copy machine, colleague’s desk). Just move. Set alarms on your computer or mobile device to take breaks.
- Organize your office. Use your time filing to stand up and move around your office. Therefore, don’t roll your chair around your office to get to your filing cabinets.
- Pick a good chair. A good chair provides adequate back support, which can help reduce stress on your back muscles and lessen your chances of back pain. Good posture is important, as bad posture can cause pain and even fatigue. So, be particular when selecting your office chair.
- Eat healthy snacks. Instead of buying candy bars or “health” bars (which are loaded with sugar), keep handy a stash of dry fruit or nuts.
- Hit the water. Get yourself a reusable water bottle and keep it on your desk. Drink at least one full bottle before lunch, and one full one before you go home at the end of the day.
- Give your eyes a break. An average of four five-minute breaks a day in addition to your usual ones not only reduces eye and muscle strain, but significantly improves your overall efficiency. Therefore, take breaks for your eyes sake.
Schedule your weekly fitness on Sunday night. Studies show that scheduling what you eat and when and how you exercise is the best way to stick to a healthy lifestyle. So, write it down!
