How you sit in your work chair determines the positioning of your low back but also your head and neck. If you are sitting slouched and on your tailbone, like a series of dominoes, your head and neck cannot possibly be in a good position. Most commonly your head will also be poked forward creating shearing forces at the base of the skull and base of the neck. These postures can contribute to headaches, neck pain, shoulder pain and more. Adjusting your sitting position, so that you are sitting on your sitting bones (ischeal tuberosities) is the first step to taking strain off your head and neck areas. Ensuring you have a sound ergonomic setup of your workstation is important, especially if you are receiving treatment for an issue where posture is a contributing factor. The team at Back in Business can arrange to assess your workstation and advise you if any adjustments are required.

Sitting

Sedentary behaviour is defined as energy expenditure of less than 1.5MET.  Three - five hours of uninterrupted sittng has been reported to be detremental to vasular responses to loading (Thosar SS et al 2015, Med Sc Sp Ex, 47, 4, 843-9) and resting cerebral blood flow velocity (Carter SE et al 2018, J Appl Physiol, 125, 3, 790-8). Further problems with glucose tolerance, have also been demonstrated (Dunstan DW et al 2012, Diabetes Care, 35, 5, 976-83). All these researchers found breaks as little as 2-5 minutes prevented these deteriorations.

Standing

Long periods (3 hours) of sitting has been shown to result in a significant impairment in the circulation in the legs. Specifically, attenuated shear rate on superficial femorial artery flow mediated dilation occurs, which has been associated with cardiovascular disease risk factors (Thosar et al 2015, Med Sc Ex Sp, 47, 4, 843-849). Since the time of initial writing (2001), stand up desks have become more affordable and common place. In fact, people have referred to sitting as the new 'smoking' in terms of it's detrimental affect on general health. Shifts in innate immune function have been demonstrated after reduced sitting (Noz MP et al 2019, J Am Heart Assoc, 8, 21, 3764). Both long-term and acute benefits of reduced sitting on vascular flow and function have been demonstrated at a cardiac and cerebral level (Hartman et al 2021, Med Sc Sp Ex, 53, 2, 341-350). 

Taking regular breaks from sitting or using a standing desk may ameliorate blood flow issues. However, standing cannot be static and postural perturbation exercises should be employed. Additionally, short periods of walking between static behaviour is recommended. Even small breaks from sitting can plausibly have potent effects on the fluctuation on blood flow shear, which may be a mechanism which stimulates improved endothelial blood vessel function.

Exercise

A particularly intriguing question is, whether a general exercise program would be protective against the deleterious effects of 3 hours of continuous sitting? A 16 week programme of low intensity exercise and the aim of reducing sedentary time by 30 minutes in middle aged individuals with high blood pressure, resulted in a 1 hour reduction in sedentary time, improved peripheral vascular blood flow and function, as well as increased cerebral blood flow, without changes to cerebrovascular function (Hartman YAW et al, 2021 Med Sc Sp Ex, 53, 2, 341-350). 

Trained men have been shown to have higher cerebral blood flow (Ainslie PN et al 2008, J Appl Physiol, 586, 6, 4005-4010). Furthermore, a 4 month training regime has demonstrated improved hipocampal blood flow (Burdett JH et al 2010, 2, 23). Interestingly, the hippocampus has been associated with mood, emotional responses, memory formation and learning. 

Luchtime Physical Activity

Lunchtime soccer, touch football, ultimate frizzbee, boot camp with work colleagues are a highly intriguing mechanism to improve workplace productivity through improved cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and immune function but also to build social cohesion.

In a Swedish study (2011), two workplaces in dental care were asked to devote 2.5 hours per week to physical activity, distributed across two sessions. Another group had the same decrease in work hours but without obligatory exercise, and a third group maintained their usual work hours, 40 hours a week.

The results showed that all three groups were able to maintain or even increase their production level, in this case the number of patients treated, during the study period compared with the corresponding time the previous year. Those who exercised also reported improvements in self-assessed productivity -- they perceived that they got more done at work, had a greater work capacity, and were sick less often.  https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110906121011.htm

If notthing else, improved mood would presumably improve work productvity.

Mouse

Instead of using a mouse, have you thought about using X Box controller?  http://www.instructables.com/id/Use-an-Xbox-360-controller-as-a-mouse/ All you need is Windows XP or above, a spare USB port, and an Xbox 360 wired controller. This costs $40 retail, but you should be able to find it for around $20 online. If you don't already have a wireless controller or you only have one (and want another controller for multiplayer games on your Xbox 360) then the wired controller is the better choice.

Alternatively, a vertical mouse can be an effective way of managing arm and neck discomfort. Unlike the 'normal mouse' where movement occurs as a result of the shoulder blade dropping down and forward, the vertical mouse uses a hand gripping process, as well as bending and straightening of the elbow. Movement of the hand and elbow is more cognisant to the movement system than shoulder blade activity, since the former is in our visual field.

The following information represents the first incarnation of this website in 1998 and therefore represents some of the first information on work station ergonomics posted on the internet. Although the diagrams are dated, the information is still as relevant now as it was then. In fact, in the age of pandemics and people working from home, this information is particularly important, in a non-optimum environment.