Emin Beganović, Aiša Čanić

#WalterHealthMonth began with an amazing hike to village Lukomir which resulted in great team bonding and a reminder of the importance of keeping our bodies active.

However, we are sure that being healthy doesn’t always have to do with leaving the office for a hike. We’re bringing you some advice on how to improve your posture and maintain good health while working from your office chair – which, let’s be honest, is where you spend the most time!

Make sure not to miss out on this post, and keep up with #WalterHealthMonth! 

So, what’s the problem?

It is no secret that office workers usually have neck and back pain problems. While sitting at the desk is inevitable, there are ways to take care of your health at the workplace and balance out the time you spend sitting incorrectly.

Being focused at work often makes you forget the long-term damage you might be caused by neglecting the back pain and bad posture. While you may still need to sit for the most of your day, it’s not good for your back or the rest of your body to spend the day hunched over your computer at your home office with little, or no movement. However, exercise isn’t the only way to maintain good spinal health. 

There are some minor changes you can do to enhance your spinal health and general wellbeing. Here are 7 changes you can make today for back-pain-free office days:

• Make adjustments at your desk

The first step you should take towards a healthier environment is as simple as making a good adjustment to your workplace. This can do more than you think. 

Most of the computer screens used at work are not at your eye level, which causes you to look down and bend your spine. By doing this for 8 hours a day, you are putting a lot of strain on your neck and back. Adjusting your computer screen to be at your eye level can improve your posture by a lot, and by that help, you reduce back pain problems. 

Besides adjusting your screen level, investing in a good chair that supports your back is always a good idea. 

• Stretch

Stretching is one of the most underrated tips that actually work. It is said that stretching helps with reducing tension in muscles supporting the spine, which are crucial to preventing a number of back pain conditions.

While stretching between breaks is the most important, having weekly yoga exercises can help you reduce the risk of having any back pains. Harvard health publishing emphasized that practicing yoga can be especially helpful to the muscles that support the back and spine and that yoga is one of the best ways to soothe aching back.

We advise you to get in touch with a professional before you start practicing yoga. 

At Walter, we dearly recommend yoga – as it is an activity that we are quite fond of and frequently do ourselves, even at the office! Yes, the pandemic sort of stopped us from doing that in great numbers, but from time to time we try our best to organize yoga sessions, and besides the obvious health benefits, they are quite fun as well!

• Short-walk breaks

If yoga does not sound like something you are able to practice on a weekly basis, try including other simple physical activities in your daily routine that can significantly help you reduce lower back pain. 

Walking regularly decreases pain and increases life quality. Walking and other light physical activity breaks may improve lumbar spine position sufficiently to minimize lower back pain when standing. The effectiveness of inserting 5-minute walking breaks every 25 minutes is enormous, as concluded in this research.

• Work on your posture

While most of the tips for relieving back pain include some form of exercise away from your desk, this tip doesn’t require you to go anywhere. Maintaining good spine posture can make your 8-hour shifts less painful. 

If you slouch forward or lean back at your desk you’re putting your spine out of alignment. Good posture doesn’t strain your back muscles and releases you from any tension that is building up. If you’re having a hard time keeping up with good posture, consider buying a posture correcting band to help you maintain a healthy spine alignment. 

Exercise:

While the natural response to discomfort is to do less, the opposite is true when it comes to back pain symptoms. Because exercise relaxes muscles and promotes blood flow to the area. Ignoring pain and discomfort could be damaging for one’s health, and one of the most important factors for long-term pain alleviation and prevention is being committed to exercise. 

We bring you three simple exercises and stretches that will help you improve your posture and strengthen your lower back.

• Standing Trunk Extension Stretch

• Stand with your feet shoulders width apart.
• Place your hands in the small of your back for support.
• Slowly lean backward increasing the arch of your lower back until you feel a mild stretch in the abdominal muscles and slight pressure in the lower back.
• You can perform this as a static stretch by holding for 15-20 seconds, then repeating it 3-5 times per session.
• To perform this as an active range of motion exercise, hold for only a few seconds, but perform 10 repetitions per session.

• Seated Hamstring Stretch

• While seated, rest your heel on the floor with your knee straight.
• Gently lean forward until a stretch is felt behind your knee/thigh.
• You should keep your low back straight to focus the stretch on the hamstring muscles.
• Hold the stretch for 20-30 seconds, then repeat 3-4 times on each leg.

• Seated Lateral Trunk Stretch

• While in a seated position, raise one arm over your head.
• Place your other hand on your thigh for support.
• Slowly bend to the opposite side until you feel a comfortable stretch along the side of your trunk.
• Hold the stretch for 15-20 seconds, then repeat 3-5 times on each side.

Conclusion:

This aspect of working is often overlooked, but modern jobs bring modern problems – and taking care of your spine and your posture can be extremely beneficial in the long-run. We hope to increase awareness about this particular issue, and we surely hope that some of the tips that we’ve mentioned will help you, as well.

Our health is the most important thing we have, and paying great attention and dealing with it accordingly should be a priority. Healthy employee = happy employee.