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Many of us are recently working from home amid the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing measures.
In the absence of proper home office setup, you might have found yourself spending extended periods of time at your kitchen counter, couch or hunched over a coffee table with poor posture. Poor posture for prolonged period of time, could in turn, lead to injury and strain to your neck and back.
Here are some helpful tips to maintain proper posture while working from home:

If possible, dedicate a desk or table that you could sit at when using your computer/laptop and avoid working while sitting/lying on your couch or bed.

While sitting at a desk/table, raise your laptop/computer monitor using a stand, or stack of books, so top of the screen is at your eye level.

Use a comfortable chair to maintain a proper sitting posture:

• • Keep your head over shoulders and avoid tilting your head forward.
  • Maintain relaxed shoulders (not elevated or slumped) with elbows positioned under your shoulders at 90 degrees.
  • Place lower back support in the small of your back (you can use a small pillow or a towel roll).
  • Adjust your seat height so your knees are positioned at approximately 90 degrees and your thighs are parallel to the floor.
  • Rest your feet on the floor or on a footrest.

Use hands- free devices or use speaker function of your phone if you have to talk on the phone and type or write at the same time. Never hold the phone between your head and shoulder.

Position the keyboard and mouse close to you to avoid twisting and reaching.

Take breaks and get up from your workstation every 30-60 minutes to stretch and walk around.

We hope these tips will help you to maintain a good posture and to prevent neck and back injuries!

Yasaman Razavi DPT, BSc