Telecommuting: five tips to adopt the right postures and not have back pain

The renewed intensity of the coronavirus pandemic is prompting many companies to once again prioritize teleworking.

But as during confinement, care must be taken to adopt the correct postures so as not to suffer from back pain.

Doctor Jimmy Mohamed gave his advice on Monday morning on Europe 1. 

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Change posture and move every 30 minutes 

“In general, not all static postures are good, but the worst is sitting. When you sit for a long time, it causes the loss of what is called the lumbar curvature of the back, which goes cause the back muscles to stretch permanently and will give you pain. The first secret is to move and change your posture very regularly, whether you work standing or sitting, every 30 minutes. Because beyond that, that causes additional pressure on the lower back and therefore it will give you back pain.

Do not work on your sofa or dining table 

Then, of course, when you work at home, I advise against being on your sofa or on your dining table.

At worst, at your bed level, you need a real space with a real desk.

An old-fashioned desktop PC or books to enhance your laptop 

The ideal is to have a real old-fashioned stationary PC, a mouse, a separate keyboard and a monitor.

And if you absolutely must use your laptop, use books to elevate it and have it at eye level, 10 degrees below the gaze.

It's high enough, otherwise you will strain your neck and have pain.

As for the portable tablet, it should be kept to a minimum, there is no good position in which you can work.

It's just to handle the emergency.

The importance of the chair ... with five casters! 

In the purchase of a chair, it is quite stupid but you need five casters to have better stability and better comfort.

Four casters, these are for guests and small meetings.

The armrests are not necessarily compulsory, but they must be adjustable and put at the lowest height, otherwise it will cause a contracture of the trapezius.

First, you have to adjust the height of the chair.

You should stand facing the chair, and adjust the seat so that it is placed just below your knees.

The knees should be placed at 90 degrees, the ankles in line with the knees, ie neither the feet forward put the feet back.

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An exercise to do to adopt a good position 

Finally, here is a very simple exercise to do at home.

We put his hand under his buttocks: you will feel points at the level of your buttock, this is what is called the sit bones.

These seat bones, when you tilt back, they disappear and you no longer feel them under your hand.

To know in which position to sit, you have to tilt your pelvis again to feel the maximum of the tip under your hand.

This is the correct position of the pelvis.

Then, to find out if you are straight or not, you put your hand behind your back.

You feel in the middle a small point at the level of the vertebrae.

If you feel them too much, you are too arched.

If you don't feel them at all, you are too straight.

And so, you have to bring it up, just where you barely feel those vertebrae, and there you are in the right position.

And then, last tip, there must be between the seat and your knee the equivalent of a point.

Otherwise, you are either too far or not far enough.

With all this, normally telecommuting should be fine. "