It’s easy to take your back for granted — it’s been there for you your entire life, carrying the weight of your body or adjusting to myriad positions that you twist yourself into. Your spine is literally and figuratively the lynchpin to your body’s entire structure. While chiropractic doctors have understood this since the 19th century, it’s easy to forget or neglect proper posture — especially when you’ve got a big project that needs your undivided (seated) attention, or if you’re lounging around at home without the aid of a comfortable chair. And once bad posture has built up for long enough, it can manifest in back pain — simply as the result of everyday actions. Pretty unfair, isn’t it? If you’re looking to correct stressors that lead to back pain, ergonomics could be the key to helping you understand what little changes you could be making in your workspace or home. The good thing is that you don’t need to be a scientist to learn about ergonomics, nor do you need to be an engineer to implement solutions into your everyday life. You can start right here with this blog post, where we’ll go over ergonomic fixes to your office and home as well as additional helpful tips and products you can use to maximize productivity — and minimize back problems. But first, a quick definition:

What is Ergonomics?

As the combination of two Greek words (“work” and “natural law”), ergonomics is a field of study that dates back to 1857, when the Polish scientist Wojciech Jastrzębowski coined the term in a paper sub-headlined “The Science of Work.”  The Ergonomics Society (later renamed The Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors) was founded in the UK in 1949, dedicated to those who study ergonomics and how it can be used to adapt humans to everyday life and the stressors within. Quite simply, ergonomics is the study of how people can best fit into their environment, whether at work or at home. Think about how many physical stressors your body is involved in on a daily basis due to your home and your workplace: you slouch in front of the computer; you hold a shoulder bag improperly; you hunch over as you do household chores. And when it comes time to sit down, it’s easy to simply go with whatever means of bodily support your surroundings have given you — the office-mandated plain computer chair, for example, or a recliner at home that’s so worn in it’s practically shaped for you. But ergonomics say that there’s a better way to live and work — one that focuses on tweaking and customizing your surroundings so that they fit you, not the other way around. This in turn can help lead to correcting back pain problems and ensuring that physical stress doesn’t slowly build up on your body over time.

Ergonomics in the Workplace

Many professional workplaces are becoming aware of the fact that the traditional office setup is not particularly healthy on the human body in the long run. Office workers are expected to sit in a stationary position for long hours, oftentimes in a chair that isn’t well-suited to support their body. Although it’s becoming more commonplace to see untraditional workplaces, such as offices with standing desks or ones that encourage you to take frequent mini-breaks (getting up to walk around for 5-10 minutes every hour is a useful tip), it can still be difficult to push back against the rigid office structure system. But, for the sake of your back and body’s long-term health, it should be done! Simple ergonomic fixes to the workstation could include:
  • Ensuring that a computer monitor is angled properly towards your sightline
  • Raising or lowering a desk chair to reduce the tilting of the hand and wrist as you reach for the computer mouse
  • Investing in a specialty ergonomic office chair to give proper back support as you sit for short or long periods of time
  • Sitting a comfortable distance from your computer monitor to reduce eyestrain
  • Making sure you get up and stretch your arms and legs frequently

Ergonomics at Home

Whether your home is also your workplace or just where you spend much of your time, there are plenty of ways that ergonomics can improve back support in one’s household. Since your home should be your castle, you wouldn’t want to have your body attacked by stressors that can be easily prevented or avoided. Plus, as your home is typically your place to relax, ergonomics can help you achieve maximum relaxation within your environment with a minimal amount of bodily strain over time. You might not even realize that your favourite comfy chair or bed’s mattress could be contributing to ongoing back pain! You can utilize ergonomics to optimize your home environment in many ways, but here are a few easy ones that you can do right away:
  • Bending down and using your knees to lift rather than curving your back when picking up heavy items at home
  • Swiftly replacing old worn-out armchairs with newer, more supportive recliners
  • Flipping your mattress every six months to ensure better back support while you sleep
  • Practicing good posture while sitting at the dinner table or in front of the TV
  • Taking pressure off your dominant hand by using both hands interchangeably

Ergonomics is for Everybody (and Every Body)

As you can see, sometimes it just takes the smallest tweaks to have the biggest impact on your bodily comfort. Of course, there are plenty of options if you wish to further implement ergonomic solutions into your home or workplace; these days, there are many furniture manufacturers that specialize in making sure that you have a wide range of products specially designed to help your body conform to its daily tasks and rituals. From lounge chairs to office desks to even ergonomic accessories, there are plenty of options out there to assist you in creating your workplace or home into an environment that causes far less stress on your body — and your back especially. Whether you have a lot of money to invest in ergonomics or even a little, you can be sure that you’re making a good choice in investing in the long-term maintenance of your back. It’s the only one you’ll ever have, after all. How do you apply ergonomics in your workplace or at home? Have they made a difference in your back pain? Share your experiences and tips in the comments.