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People with chronic pain have needs that require special ergonomical accommodations. Specific ways in which you can improve your home and work environment include the following:
- When standing for long periods of time, change your body position every few minutes to decrease stress on the muscles supporting your spine.
- Wear quality shoes that provide good arch support and cushion. Crocs shoes are known to bring comfort to chronic pain sufferers.
- When lifting objects, keep your feet apart for balance. Spare your back muscles by raising the object while keeping it close to your body and by lifting with your legs.
- Pushing an object is less stressful than pulling. Pulling may strain back muscles or, worse yet, herniated a disc.
- When driving long distances, use a lumbar support
or a rolled-up towel for your low back. Stop every hour or so to walk around and to stretch those back muscles.
- An ergonomically designed chair supports the back at its weakest area, the low back, and promotes good sitting posture, which protects the back from fatigue and injury. If your job is sedentary and you sit eight hours a day, it pays to invest in a good chair. At the very least, you should buy a lumbar support or roll up a towel to support your lower back. Don’t sit too long. You should get up and move around every hour or so.
- If you work at a computer, the monitor should be at a height that does not require raising or lowering your head when looking at the screen or the keyboard. The top of the screen should be about eye level.
This page was first published on May, 15th, 2008 and was last updated on May, 30th, 2008