After years of sitting at a computer for long periods of time, I had poor posture due to muscle tension, decreased blood flow, overuse, and repetitive strain injuries. I used to sit in the same compromised, vulnerable position for 8 hours a day. In 2011, I finally took full accountability and started fixing bad posture at the computer.
Since 2011, I’ve studied how to correct computer posture and improve workstation ergonomics. Today, I’m sharing 4 of my most important tips on how to fix computer posture mistakes.
None of my content is professional medical advice. I write about my personal experience of how to fix computer posture mistakes. These good posture habits worked for me. They are not intended to be medical advice. Do your research. Make good decisions. And be the best possible advocate you can be for your own healthcare.
How to Fix Computer Posture Mistakes
Understand “what is a repetitive strain injury”?
Most of us hold our bodies in a sitting posture for 8 hours a day. This means we sit over 2,000 hours per year in the same stagnant position. Repetitive strain and overuse injuries are a major problem for us. Repetitive strain means holding certain body parts in the exact same position for a long period of time. Overuse means a movement done over and over again throughout each day (clicking a mouse, for example).
Sitting for long periods of time causes many different injuries (heart problems, joint pain, weight gain, skeletal alignment issues, headaches, etc). However, notice how the above definition for repetitive strain injury only contains 2 elements of the body: tendons and muscles. When it comes down to it, the health of our muscles and tendons is where we need to focus when it comes to correct computer posture.
When I say improve the “health” of our muscles and tendons, this doesn’t mean go and overtrain in the gym. It doesn’t mean doing heavy squats or going for a long run. If your posture and form is poor when you squat or run, it’s just going to make things worse. It will multiply your poor posture problems caused by sitting at a computer desk.
Instead, muscle and tendon health is improved by taking a well-rounded approach to different variables of wellness. These variables include good posture, sleep quality, nutrition, hydration, and breathing. First, I implemented many strategies in these areas. Then, I focused more on strength training in the gym.
To get a good foundation in these areas, check out these articles:
How to Sleep Better at Night Naturally
How Much Water Do I Need to Drink Per Day
Improve Your Posture by Breathing More Effectively
Understand the natural curvature of the spine
Keep the spine “stacked” in an “S curve” when in any position for an extended period of time.
The spine should have a very slight “S” shape when looking at it from a side angle of the user’s right side. This is the most important mechanic when it comes to sitting at a computer. If you do it correctly, a lot of other aspects automatically fall into place. If you don’t do this step correctly, it causes a chain reaction of many other posture issues that cannot be avoided. Degeneration of the spinal discs located between the vertebrae takes place, which is non-reversible. Many joints get overextended once the spine is no longer stacked (shoulders and hips especially).
Keep the lower back arched slightly forward (this is called a lumbar curve).
If you’re not sure if your spine is stacked in an “S curve”, make sure you at least maintain this lumbar curve. The lumbar curve is a great place to start when learning how to sit properly at a computer. Otherwise, lower back pain and strain will eventually happen.
The back support of your office chair should support your upper body, allowing you to keep it comfortably at a 90 degree angle from the floor.
Take advantage of the back rest to support your upper body. You don’t have to lean 100% of your body weight back into the back rest. That could cause the spine to flatten out and lose its natural curves. Just make sure to take off some of the pressure that gravity would otherwise take a major toll on (compared to if you were just sitting straight up and not using the back rest of the desk chair).
Maintain an equal balance of strength between your lower back and your abs.
There shouldn’t be more tension in the lower back than the abs (or vice versa). If there is, it will cause pain in the lower back and muscle dysfunction throughout the body. An ideal posture for computer work is having a stable torso that can sway slightly. I imagine it as a tree blowing in the wind. Not completely stiff, like a brick building. That would cause repetitive strain injuries, even if we’re using correct computer posture.
Preventing computer-related back pain
It’s hard to believe that back pain can be caused by sitting at a computer for long periods of time. If you’d like to learn about why it happens, check out my article titled Can Sitting at a Computer Cause Back Pain? Today, I’m going to focus this section on ways of preventing computer-related back pain.
Don’t slouch forward in your office chair
This is one of the most common computer posture mistakes people make. Using a keyboard and mouse, for 8 hours a day, causes us to tense up and overuse all of our arm muscles. This muscle tension causes a chain reaction of shoulder pain and tension. This chain reaction continues through to the upper, mid, and lower back.
Adjusting your chair for better posture
I used to always sit with my desk chair too low. My elbows were below desk level, so I had to lift my hands to put them on my keyboard and mouse. This caused me to constantly keep my biceps activated for long periods of time. This caused muscle tension and lack of blood flow in my upper arms, which caused me to slouch forward in my chair. Computer-related back pain was the end result of having my desk chair too low.
Since I started fixing bad posture at the computer, I’ve raised my office chair. That allows me to keep my elbows slightly above desk level. This takes a lot of strain off my biceps. It might add a little activation to my triceps, but I’m okay with that. It’s never caused an issue in my experience. Keeping my elbows slightly above desk level has decreased my natural tendency to slouch forward in my desk chair.
To learn more about adjusting your chair for better posture, check out my article titled How to Sit Comfortably in an Office Chair.
Avoiding neck and shoulder pain for computer use
In addition to my desk chair being too low, I used to have my monitor too low as well. Looking down at my monitor, at an excessive angle, for 8 hours a day caused neck and shoulder pain for me. After raising my chair, I also raised my monitor. I want to keep the top of the monitor screen at eye level. Anything lower, even the slightest angle, can cause a lot of neck muscle tension, lack of blood flow, and headaches.
Thanks for your interest in computer posture.
If this article was helpful, check out my book titled 45 Ways to Improve Computer Posture. It’s available in both digital and paperback versions.
>>> Click here to pick up your copy
This book explains how to fix computer posture mistakes through different variables of health and wellness. These variables include sitting posture, standing posture, sleep quality, hydration, and breathing. Poor posture is not just how we sit at a computer. The health habits we practice, 24 hours a day, are directly related to how good (or bad) our computer posture is.
Go to SittingPosture.com/book to learn more.
Take care,
Todd Bowen
P.S. You can sign up for my free computer posture newsletter here.