What Are The Top 5 Worst Positions At Work?

Ever had one of those moments when you bend over to pick up something as insignificant as a pen and you feel an abnormal twinge or pain in your back? Then you think to yourself - it's only a pen, why did my back go out? Most people realize when they get a cavity in their tooth, it's because you ate too many sweets or your dental hygiene was lacking, resulting in a dental cavity. Many never think that abnormal spinal structure leads to painful Secondary conditions like back pain.

At work, especially if you work in an office setting, there are positions that will cause spinal deviations or structural shifts.  Over time, these spinal deviations will weaken your spine. This increases your susceptibility to injury from unlikely causes (picking up a pen). What can you do? If working at the beach is out of the realm of possibilities, than avoiding the Top 5 Worst Positions At Work is worthy of your consideration.

Top 5 Worst Positions At Work

1. Sitting AND leaning forward. Scientific studies looked at different sitting positions and the leaning forward is by far the worst. This position increases pressure on your discs, the vertebrae (back bones) and strains muscles, which causes ligaments to take on more stress.  (just like a cavity - slowly wearing down your bodies resistance) When your low back is compromised or weakened - this leads to symptoms such as low back pain.
2. Looking down when you work on your computer. The number one cause of Primary Structural problem of the spine known as Anterior Head Syndrome or A.H.S. for short. This position over time causes abnormal structural shifts of the spine causing,  increase pressure to discs, ligaments, bones and increased tension on muscles. Leading to Secondary Conditions or symptoms, such as; headaches, neck and back pain disc bulges, etc.  Indicators of this structural problem are an anterior shift of your head more than 1 inch from your shoulders (goosed neck or turtle neck appearance) along with rolled inward shoulders, and a "granny hump" or dowagers hump. Any one indicator is indicative of a Primary Structural problem of the spine.
3. Upper Arms and shoulders anterior of your body or forward. This position makes it easier for your head to go anterior or forward, making AHS worse.
4. Wrong Chair. Wrong chair puts you in the wrong position. If your chair does not support your spine(wrong seat depth, no structural support) - you will have secondary conditions, no doubt.  If your cannot get a proper chair, then you need to use a seat buddy ( a cushion that enhances the normal structure of your spine).
5. Feet that DO NOT rest flat or on a foot rest along with thighs NOT parallel and legs NOT perpendicular to the floor. Head to toe your structure needs to be supported.  Think of the foundation of your house, if the foundation is off - then you will get cracks in the dry wall, creaks in the floor boards and stuck doors. If your foundation is solid - the other problems are avoided.

These are the top culprits that lead to chronic Secondary Conditions, such as low back and neck pain. They are Secondary because the abnormal positioning has caused a Primary Structural issue. The wise thing to do is try to prevent these Primary Structural problems from taking hold of your spine like Anterior Head Syndrome.  Avoid the five positions listed above is a great start.

Have a Great Day!