In achieving optimal health, we take care of our diet, maintain a healthy lifestyle, and perform physical exercises or workout in gyms. But we are often unaware that maintaining a good posture throughout the day is also crucial!
The correct position for each body part while sitting or standing in front of a computer or laptop screen.
While many of us are required to keep up with the ‘studying from home’, ‘working from home’ or simply just ‘staying at home’ lifestyle in curbing the global pandemic, let’s figure out how to achieve optimal physical health and beauty, although there might not be much free space for us to move around in.
What is a healthy and beautiful physical outlook? Taking the definition provide by a physiotherapy expert – It is when the body is well-aligned and gives an ideal posture.
“When we are standing, it should be as if a straight line is passing through us from the top of the head to the feet, separating a person in half perfectly. And If we look at the person from the front or back, the right and left sides should be in symmetry. If we are looking at the person from the side, the straight line should pass through the middle of the ear, shoulder, body, knee and ends in front of the ankle joint,” described Ho Swii Yitt, Assistant Clinical Instructor, Physiotherapy Department, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, INTI International University.
As we now need to spend long hours at home, how should we maintain a good posture to support good health, especially after prolonged hours are spent on using electronic devices?
“Sitting posture is important. By maintaining a good posture, we can prevent musculoskeletal disorder (MSDs) such as the neck, shoulder, and back pains, and carpal tunnel syndrome,” advised Ho.
To give us a precise idea of what is a healthy sitting posture when we are at our study table or work station, Ho outlined the correct position for each body part (you can also refer to the illustration provided): –
Head: Keep it upright with chin tucked in. The top of the screen should be at eye level or just slightly lower;
Neck: In-line with the head and body;
Shoulders: Relaxed and not rounded forwards;
Elbows: Bent at 90-100° angles;
Wrists: Relaxed and with forearms and hands in a straight line;
Trunk: Upright;
Hips: Bent at 90° angles;
Knees: Bent at 90° angles;
Ankles: Bent at 90° angles;
Thighs: Relaxed on the chair and not hanging;
Feet: Flat on the ground or footrest.
Demonstration of “Chair Exercises” for every 10 minutes or 30 minutes intervals while we study or work from home to maintain the strength and flexibility of our muscles, tendons, ligaments and to prevent injuries.
As the transition to “studying/working from home” was unplanned, most of us do not have the luxury to a prepare proper working setup and are trying to create studying or working spaces either on the couch, in the living room, in the dining room or even bedroom. Regardless of the space being used, Ho explains that the first and foremost rule is to create good working ergonomics to help maintain a proper posture throughout the day.
“We can achieve this by making some modifications or adding on some accessories such as a laptop or monitor riser, mouse or external keyboard, wrist support, proper chair and proper lighting,” she suggested, and further explained the purpose of every item as follows: –
Monitor/laptop riser – to keep the screen at eye level or just slightly lower. This will prevent us from leaning forward and looking downwards, which may lead to neck pain;
Mouse and external keyboard – these are for laptop users, as the screen has been lifted, we will need a mouse and external keyboard to maintain good posture with relaxed shoulders;
Wrist support – to maintain the forearm and hand in a straight line so that we will not putt all the force on the wrist;
Proper chair – ideally with adjustable seat depth, headrest, handrest and back support. We should place our feet flat on the ground and not leave them hanging. A small stool should be used as the footrest if the seat depth cannot be adjusted;
Proper lighting – to avoid squinting at the screen;
Elevated document holder – to raise documents to our eye level so that we do not need to bend the neck downwards as we read it.
“Health and beauty can be achieved with a correct pattern of movement or posture; this is important to ensure we minimise getting injured. Therefore, we should be mindful of our posture, especially when studying or working for long hours at home,” warned Ho and she urged that the best way to keep our posture in check is to take frequent breaks along the way as we are dealing with work.
“The intervals should be 10 seconds for every 10 minutes or 2 minutes every 30 minutes. You may perform ‘chair exercises’ (please refer to the illustration) during those breaks, as these physical activities can help maintain our health,” said Ho.
Ho Swii Yitt, Assistant Clinical Instructor, Physiotherapy Department, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, INTI International University.
She elaborated that as we keep our bodies moving, we are also maintaining the strength and flexibility of our muscles, tendons, ligaments and so forth which helps to prevent injuries.
Furthermore, Ho encourages the practice of placing a mirror in front of us so that we can observe our posture as we work and make adjustments from time to time. Alternatively, we can be creative by alternating our position to standing posture while performing work on the laptop, to ensure we are not fixed in a single position for a long time.
“There are many exercises to help us alleviate pain and to maintain a good posture. For example, you may perform chin tuck exercises, shoulder squeezes, stretching the neck, arms, wrist and trunk, or moving our arms and legs in all directions as often as possible,” stated Ho, who specialises in Cardio-Pulmonary Rehabilitation as a physiotherapist.
Ho reiterated that our posture is important in preventing injuries and also for us to have a good quality of life.
“We should always be mindful of our posture especially when we are using gadgets. If we tend to look at screens by bending our neck downwards for a long time, we will develop ‘Text Neck’ or neck strain which will lead to pain, discomfort, tingling or numbness, tiredness and weakness.”
To achieve good health from good posture, do remember to take frequent breaks, change positions, perform some simple exercises, do stretches to relax tensed muscles, and last but not least, seek medical or professional attention if injuries or pain persists.
As we continue to juggle our roles and responsibilities while studying or working from home, let’s us sail through this challenging time by looking after our general wellness, health and beauty.