Find yourself afflicted with back pain on an almost daily basis? This one tech item could be the culprit.
If you work a typical 9-5 job, the odds of you sitting down and looking at a computer all day are highly likely. Inventions like standing desks and ergonomic chairs help the situation, but that still doesn't retract from the fact that overall, sitting and looking down at a laptop or computer all day can really do a number on your neck and back. So if you find that you're experiencing back pain, your computer just might be to blame.
You can do at-home remedies like yoga for back pain, using the best pillows for back pain, and taking pain killers to temporarily ease the pain, but to truly solve the problem, you have to get to the root - which likely has a lot to do with your posture.
Having good posture in day to day life is important, but your sitting position at work may not be a factor you're considering while busy with each day's tasks. Nadia the Osteopath, a posture expert, says that having good posture while working could save you from that inevitable and unwelcome lower back pain.
She says that, since your head weighs, on average, 5 kilograms, your neck can become strained if you're looking down at a laptop all the time. "Did you know that your head weighs on average 5 kilos? So if you’re looking down too much it can cause additional strain on neck muscles," she said.
Luckily, there's a fairly easy fix - just make sure your laptop is at eye height so that you're maintaining good posture and not looking up or down (which strains your neck) while working.
Don't just let this apply to your laptop, however - Nadia mentioned that this advice is also pertinent to looking at your other screens, like phones, TVs, and even books. "When looking at screens, laptop, phones, TV and even books, try to lift to eye level to take pressure off," she advised.
Screens aren't the only thing causing your aggravating back pain, though - Nadia noted that there were a few other reasons you could be experiencing symptoms.
Unfortunately, as chic as they may be, your handbags might be another subtle cause of your back pain. Not to worry, though, Nadia noted that this could be an easy fix. "If you use a bag on a regular basis, try to alternate the shoulder you carry it on. Keeping it on one side for too long or not swapping it over can lead to shoulder and neck pain," she suggested. "Train your brain to remember to swap positions or swap between a cross body and shoulder bag on a daily basis."
