Keeping good posture

Grell

Grell

Hello, I have a question for everyone out there. How do you keep correct posture sitting at a computer desk for many hours a day? I myself have a standing desk but even with this my posture still feels like it is getting progressively worse and there is not much I can do about it. I have tried various exercises and have even gone to physical therapy but it has not helped too much. It seems like my posture is just getting worse and worse as time goes on and I cannot reverse the problem. How do you deal with poor posture? Has anyone reversed it? Thanks.
 
I'm not in hocus pocus kumbaya crap, but Yoga Lotus pose is the best. I'm doing this since forever.
Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor, nor physiotherapists. If you have any physical conditions, first consult with physiotherapists about Yoga Lotus pose. It may causes issues.
 
Monitor position and angle is also important:

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Datapanic said:
The trick is to get up and walk around for a bit every hour.
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I haven't used it in quite some time, but several years ago, I found x11/rsibreak helped me to create such a habit. There are probably similar applications available for Windows and macOS if necessary.

Grell said:
I myself have a standing desk but even with this my posture still feels like it is getting progressively worse and there is not much I can do about it.
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How do you deal with poor posture?
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You can pretty easily find online content indicating that prolonged sitting for uninterrupted periods of time is definitely bad for your health, but you can also find similar content suggesting that standing for too long can also be unhealthy, such as spinal compression that might be contributing to your posture problem:
6. Standing all day can also be bad for your health.
Even though sitting has been compared to smoking for its effects on health, there are ill effects associated with standing for long periods of the day too. Standing all day will compress the spine, which can lead to a different set of lower back issues over time. Standing increases the risks of varicose vein development, deep vein thrombosis, and heart health concerns. In a 12-year study on heart disease reported on by U.S. News and World Report, people who primary stood on the job doubled their risk compared to people who mostly sat.
— from 19 Pros and Cons of a Standing Desk
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If you are able to take some short breaks, make sure you move around a bit. You don't need to go for a jog or even "power walk", but some light stretching or a casual tour around the office to break away from your work can be enough. Remember that you're relieving a bit of minor physical tension, not training for intense physical activity like a parkour run. If you can't get away from your work for a couple of minutes, you could look into some exercises to combat the ill effects associated with working for hours at a desk. I hear some exercise in the mornings and/or before bed can be helpful as well.

A related idea is stress relief: if you're experiencing aches and/or pains, perhaps some psychological wear and tear is affecting you physically as well. Obviously this can have an effect on your posture over time due to the burden on your body. In that case, you might look into stress relief ideas like yoga, kickboxing, meditation, cooking, dancing, shopping online, woodworking, tutoring children, volunteering at a homeless shelter, etc. Even just drinking a steaming cup of some pleasantly scented tea can be soothing. What kind of "therapy" is effective depends on what you enjoy and how much you can commit to the activity. If you're on-call for a week, for example, you will almost certainly be interrupted, which will mean any attempt at stress relief can be far less effective. Otherwise, if you're doing something like meditating, turn on the "Do Not Disturb" feature of your mobile for the length of time you're dedicating to your activity, assuming you have a mobile device with such a feature, and only allow specific people to contact you, such as family in case of an emergency.
 
Grell said:
I myself have a standing desk but even with this my posture still feels like it is getting progressively worse and there is not much I can do about it.
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Make sure you stand up straight. Both feet at about shoulder width. Bend your knees slightly, don't overstretch them. Don't shift your weight from one to another, keep both legs equally loaded.

I have tried various exercises and have even gone to physical therapy but it has not helped too much. It seems like my posture is just getting worse and worse as time goes on and I cannot reverse the problem. How do you deal with poor posture?
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I've had complaints since I was 15, it was called a tennis arm back then, because tennis players often had the same kind of over-straining of their muscles of one arm. It started with my elbow and slowly progressed to neck and shoulders. After military service I had lower back problems too. My physician sent me to a physiotherapist that specialized in posture, he looked at how I walked, how I sat a desk and worked and gave me a lot of hints on how to improve. That was a really big help. For years I rarely had issues. I did have some aches and pains after a particular brutal gaming session but I learned not to ignore the signals. Take regular breaks, if it starts feeling painful you're already too late.

Up until half March, with the lockdown. I was suddenly forced to work from home. My home desk was never intended to be used this intensely. Because I had to work I ignored the signals for too long. At one point I could barely lift my arm, even after 5 minutes of sitting at the desk I had intense pain. Took a lot of painkillers to alleviate that pain. Don't do that! The pain will go away but there's a reason you have that pain in the first place. By ignoring the signals you are only damaging things even more.

All I can say, if you have complaints, go see your physician. Ask if there's a physiotherapist that specializes in posture. Sports and yoga are all good to do too. The problem with repetitive strain injury is that you're only straining a particular set of muscles. Sports and yoga will also exercise your other muscles. Balancing things out.
 
Drink tea, all sorts of tea, all day long. It will make it impossible for you to keep a bad posture for an extended period of time... ;)
Moreover, it will improve the quality of your work because when you come back at your desk, you see your code with fresh eyes and spot flaws before they become serious. :)
 
Oh, and besides its physical benefits already underlined by other participants, yoga teaches you to get aware of what happens to body and act kindly with it.
Once you've developed this awareness, it doesn't matter whether you continue the practice of yoga or not, you'll never let your body run into such trouble again.
 
Wow! 1st time I liked all posts of a thread! Use x11/rsibreak or similar, to urge yourself to have regular breaks. Not much to add except
  • Prefer a trackball over a mouse, since it's usage is much more ergonomic, and/or do as much as possible by keyboard instead
  • Change your posture now & then, don't cross your legs etc.
  • During short breaks, focus your eyes at a more distant view, e.g. look out of the window
  • During longer breaks, walk around, do some physical excercise: e.g. many offices have installed table-tennis or a pull-up bar to do chins (pull up your knees, too); use your body's weight to work against at a wall or the ground (push-ups, lay at your back & pull the long legs up & down) or at a chair or table (another technique to do pull-ups/push-ups)
 
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I buy an «anatomic chair» and learn to not let my knew on it.
When I have not the right to use my own chair, I always adjust the sit in the most top position.
 
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