Let’s Talk Sitting Habits at Work!
You will hear a lot of office ergonomists say this sentence: the best position is the next position. At ErgoMania we also believe it to be a valuable piece of advice. We promote microbreaks and sitting in optimal positions.That said, it is very easy to slip into bad habits and stay in a certain position for a long period of time. In this blog we are going to go over some of the most common non optimal positions office workers get “stuck” in and how they might affect your body. This will bring awareness on how your sitting habits may affect your long term comfort.
Positions
Legs tucked on the chair base
Tucking your legs on the base of your chair is normally a result of not being able to ground your feet properly on the ground. A footrest will typically help avoid this non-optimal sitting position.
This sitting position promotes compression stress for the back of the legs, this will in time create discomfort in the back of your knees.
Leaning on one armrest
Leaning on an armrest during your work day is mostly seen when you have to reach further for your mouse. Your body is smart and will take the easiest sitting position to do certain tasks.
What this sitting position is often accompanied by is an imbalance between your left and right side of the body. One side will be a lot tighter than the other which can play a detrimental role in your outdoor/everyday life activities. Especially activities that use shoulder rotation. You may even feel discomfort when you mouse.
Sitting Cross Legged
Spending a great amount of time in the cross legged position while you work can be comfortable during the task but extremely uncomfortable when getting out of it and for sometime after. You may experience discomfort in the position as well, most will feel leg numbness/tingle.
One leg Up
Just like leaning on an armrest, bringing one leg up on your chair and leaning against it when you work for a great period of time will affect your body in a not so delightful way.
Imbalance between your left and right side of the body will be apparent. One side will feel flexible while the other is extremely stiff and a bit weaker.
If you do want to work in these positions throughout the day and minimize the effect it has on your body, try to limit your time in them. You should be taking little microbreaks at work every 20 minutes and mix in the optimal sitting position throughout your workday.
As always, if you have any questions feel free to email us at info@myergomania.com!