By Monika Sroba
Do you work a desk job? Do you spend more than 75% of your time at work sitting? If so, you are not alone. Australia has shifted towards a more sedentary workforce; a quarter of the population spends more than 8 hours a day seated and 66% of employees do not meet the Australian physical activity guidelines. This has led to an increase in all-cause mortality and sedentary work-related injuries.
Enter the ergonomic workstation – the saving grace of sedentary workspaces... or is it? Ergonomic workstations can imply that a perfectly proportioned workstation paired with a perfectly postured Homo sapiens prevents sedentary work-related injuries.
What an ergonomic workstation doesn’t do is consider that the body has not evolved to remain static for long periods of time. Any position held for a length of time will cause stress to specific parts of t
he body and repeated stress is more likely to cause injury. So, whilst the ergonomic workstation may be a great starting point to minimising sedentary work-related injuries, research is showing that the key, in fact, is to not remain sedentary at all.
The introduction of adjustable ergonomic workstations paired with ever-changing postures allows dynamic movement, consequently boosting energy levels with decreased musculoskeletal pain, and an increase in general wellbeing and productivity.
Fig 1. The ‘perfect’ set-up: the ergonomic workstation fundamentals.
If you are working a sedentary job, let your new mantra be ‘my best posture is my next posture’ and try out some of these tips:
Change posture at least every 15-20 minutes – get creative!
Stand up every 30 mins and every 60 minutes, walk around for 3 mins – grab some water, take a toilet break, or even get some fresh air outside.
Get active at lunch – hit the gym or go for a walk or run.
Change up your workstation and work tasks to prevent repetitive movements
The takeaway message: GET MOVING! If you have any tips/tricks of your own please leave them in the comments below! If you would love some help to get moving, get in touch with our team. We would love to meet you - call us on 02 8969 6300 or email info@bblifestyleclinic.com.au!
References
Bygholm, A., & Kappelsgaard, L. (2019). Avoiding sedentary work: exploring motivational issues. Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, 265, 169–174.
https://doi.org/10.3233/SHTI190158
Garland, E., Watts, A., Doucette, J., Foley, M., Senerat, A., & Sanchez, S. (2018). Stand up to work: assessing the health impact of adjustable workstations. International Journal of Workplace Health Management, 11(2), 85–95.
https://doi.org/10.1108/IJWHM-10-2017-0078
Katzmarzyk, P.T., Church, T.S., Craig, C.L. and Bouchard, C. (2009). Sitting time and mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, Vol. 41, No. 5, pp. 998-1005.
Wipfli, B., Wild, S., Donovan, C., Hanson, G. C., & Thosar, S. S. (2021). Sedentary work and physiological markers of health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(6), 3230–3230. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18063230
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