Working from home

Poor posture can lead to pain in the neck, back, shoulders, legs and feet. Good posture is not just about sitting up straight; it is about being supported in a good position. For good posture, it is advised to:

• Move your chair closer to the desk so you are not perching on the front of your seat.
• Sit back in your chair and maintain contact between your back and the backrest of the seat which will support your spine.
• Sit in an upright or slightly reclined position (approximately 90-110 degrees angle at the hips).
• Ensure your elbows remain under the shoulder and close to the body, and that your wrists are elevated off the desk and in a neutral position when typing or using the mouse and not resting on the desk.
• Make sure your neck is aligned with your shoulders, facing straight ahead, and balanced comfortably.
• Adjust your chair (an adjustable chair is recommended) so your shoulders are in a relaxed position and your forearms are lightly resting on the desk.

Ensure your feet are flat on the ground, supported by the floor – you may require a footrest to achieve this.

After checking for good posture, you should be able to sit back comfortably in your chair and view all screen content without straining or leaning forward.

If you have one screen:

• Place the screen directly in front of you to avoid rotation of the neck
• Height of the screen - position at approximately eye level, your line of vision should fall in the top third of the screen
• Distance of screen – position so that the screen is approximately an arm’s length away from you.

If you have multiple screens:

• Position monitors side-by-side and close together and position yourself equally between the two.

• If the primary screen is used for most of the time, position the primary monitor directly in front of you, with secondary monitor slightly to the side.

Correct setup of the keyboard can positively impact your neck, shoulders and arms. Creating forearm support space in front of the keyboard and avoiding over-reaching for your keyboard reduces the load on the neck and shoulders. The placement of the keyboard is the first priority over other desk items. Here are some recommendations:

• Place the keyboard within normal reach of your forearm.

• Place the keyboard approximately 15-20cm away from you which creates space in front of your keyboard to lightly rest your forearms on the desk.

• Keep keyboard legs down – raised legs can cause extension of the wrists and can increase load on the forearm muscles.

• Reposition the keyboard regularly if it is moved often for paper-based tasks.

• Position the mouse close to the edge of the keyboard and within normal reach of the forearm (elbows relaxed under the shoulder).

• Ensure there is adequate space in front of the mouse to rest your forearm.

• Keep the wrist straight (neutral) and move your whole arm to navigate the mouse.

• Use keyboard shortcuts where possible to reduce mouse use.

• Avoid gripping the mouse hard, the hand should be relaxed and draped over the mouse.

• Alternate mouse use from left to right hand.

The use of smaller devices can result in increased rounding of the upper back and neck and creates a forward head posture to reduce the viewing distance to the screen. If you are working from a laptop, you may be placing additional postural strain on your neck and shoulders as you look down to view the screen. If there is a monitor that you can connect your laptop to this will help with your posture. If this is not practical, the simple solution can be to: 

• raise the laptop on a laptop stand, or alternatively a stack of books
• use a separate keyboard
• use a separate mouse.

These 3 interventions will raise the screen height, whilst maintaining appropriate positioning of the upper limbs.

• Where possible, position your monitor so that it avoids glare and reflections from overhead light or window.

• Lighting too dark – consider a desk lamp.

• Lighting too bright – consider lowering intensity by removing a globe or tube or change the intensity of the globe.