Taking Care of Your Spine as a Remote Worker

Don’t be so ‘in the zone’ that your spinal health suffers

Source: Wes Hicks on Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/photos/4-EeTnaC1S4

How is your posture right now?

If you’re anything like me — you’re intermittently aware of it. Perhaps you catch your reflection in a window and decide to sit up straight, or maybe you take the time to do a few shoulder shrugs and neck rotations before your next Zoom meeting.

Did you know that having your neck just 2 inches forward places an extra 12 pounds of pressure on your spine?

How you are sitting for hours on end can cause a huge amount of health issues.

This can impact our overall wellbeing in several ways:

• Muscle overload — Due to the pull of gravity on the head, our neck, shoulder and back muscles are overworked. This can lead to painful spasms and stiffness. (Deep Heat, anyone?!)
• Hunched upper back — Because your neck is pushed forwards towards your screen, your shoulders automatically become rounded, leading to more potential for pain in the upper back
• Reduced mobility — The range of motion can be decreased as our muscles feel stiffer and somewhat ‘locked’ into place.