Have you ever faced severe neck cramps or aching all around your neck and shoulders? If you are confused about why that happens, you can blame it on the way you are positioned. For example, the way you sit or lay down a certain style could be the definite reason that has caused this pain on your neck.
Knowing how to sit properly to decrease neck pain is a very good solution so that you can avoid getting such cramps and damaging any certain nerves or muscles to the point you will need medical attention or treatment.
Instead of wasting money on a doctor’s visit, we will teach you how to avoid this by having the right sitting posture.
How to Sit Properly to Decrease Neck Pain
There are many kinds of methods you can follow to manage to get the right posture or position when sitting at a work desk or a dinner table, or anywhere at all. If you follow these following methods, then you can avoid getting neck pain or neck cramps:
Method 1: Fix Your Leg Positions
Crossing your legs by placing one over the other in any type of style at all could be a quick way to get neck or back pain.
I understand that keeping your feet still, on the floor or a footrest under your desk or chair may seem tiresome or boring.
But keeping your feet leveled as much as possible is the best way to make sure that the spine supporting your lower back area is curving inwards, which is healthy for your entire spine. This includes the spinal bones and attachments in your neck.
Method 2: Adjust Your Chair
Before you sit down to work for long hours, it is important that you adjust the height of your chair so that your feet do not dangle because the chair was too high, nor do your knees stick out because the chair was too small.
If your chair is adjustable, then fix the height so that your feet can rest lightly on the floor. If it’s not adjustable, then try to find a chair that matches your height’s needs.
Method 3: Choose the Right Desk
Just like the chair, your desk also matters in terms of matching your height’s needs. You will be using your desk for doing a lot of writing or typing on your personal computer.
If the desk is too high, it will make you uncomfortable in a certain way. And if the desk is too low, you will be forced to slouch lower when writing. The height of the desk should at least reach a few inches below your chest to let you have the proper sitting position when working on your desk.
When you are working, you should also be close to your desk. Keeping your seat and desk close is necessary. If your chair is too far from the desk you are working at, then you will naturally slouch to write or type at your desk. Your torso should touch the front edge of the desk as you work.
Method 4: The Setup of Your Personal Computer
Your computer’s monitor screen should be leveled with your eyes. Any higher or lower means your eyes will have to strain by looking above or below. The healthy way to look at a computer screen is by having your monitor right in front of your eyes at your eye level.
This way, your neck will not be strained from having to curve inward or outward when looking up or down. It can rest in a straight position while you continue to work.
It is preferable if your desk has one of those pull-out keyboard tray features so that you can keep your arms at a 90-degree angle instead of lazily resting them in odd angles on your desk when typing on the keyboard on your desk. The pull out tray helps you keep your arms up at a proper angle when typing.
And you should also put your mouse on that pull-out tray.
Method 5: Avoid Slumping or Slouching
As the day goes by, it is inevitable that you will feel tired. While working long hours, your body might fall asleep before your eyes do. And while you are typing or writing at your work desk, your back will slowly start to slump. This slumping will result in neck pain.
To avoid this, you should stand up and stretch your back out a bit and restart your sitting position with the backrest of your chair fully touching your back.
There are some ergonomic harnesses made of elastic band material that will help you avoid slumping by forcing your shoulders to be pulled back and force your back to be straight and curved inwards. This may cost a bit, but if your slumping or slouching is becoming a major issue, then these harnesses could help you.
Final Words
The above methods do not only apply to office desk work. When you are working at home, having meals at the table, sitting in a park bench, etc., you will need to follow those sitting methods.
It also does not matter whether you are an adult or a child; humans of all ages should know how to sit properly to decrease neck pain. And the methods we gave will help you enough as long as you properly follow them all.