Ergonomic & Lifestyle Advice

Sometimes the Problem Is What You Do All Day

Not every patient comes into the office because they fell, got in a car accident, or hurt themselves lifting something.

A lot of the problems I see build up gradually.

You sit at a desk for eight hours a day. You spend two hours commuting. Your computer monitor is off to one side. You sleep on your stomach with your head turned all night. Your pillow is 10 years old. You started working from home at your kitchen table.

None of those things necessarily cause a problem overnight.

But doing them day after day, week after week, and year after year can add up.

That's why part of your treatment may simply involve talking about what you're doing when you're not in my office.

Your One-Hour Appointment Isn't the Whole Story

Let's say I see you twice this week.

That's two appointments out of an entire week.

What you're doing during all those other hours matters.

If I'm treating your neck but then you go home and spend six hours looking down at a laptop, we should probably talk about your laptop.

If your low back bothers you every morning, I want to know how you're sleeping.

If you feel great on the weekends but your pain comes back every Monday through Friday, I want to know what you're doing at work.

Sometimes changing something relatively simple in your daily routine can make our job in the office a lot easier.

Let's Look at Your Desk

Desk ergonomics doesn't have to be complicated.

I don't need you to buy a $2,000 chair and completely redesign your office.

Usually, we're looking at some basic things:

• Where is your monitor?
• How high is your chair?
• Where are your keyboard and mouse?
• Are you using one monitor or multiple monitors?
• Are you constantly looking down at a laptop?
• Are your feet supported?
• How long are you sitting without getting up?
• Are you working from an actual desk or whatever surface happened to be available?

Sometimes I'll have patients take a picture of their workstation and show it to me.

That makes it a lot easier.

Instead of guessing what your setup looks like, I can actually see it and point out things I'd consider changing.

There Is No Perfect Posture

This is something I think gets oversimplified.

People are constantly told to "sit up straight" or maintain "perfect posture."

That's not realistic.

You aren't going to sit in one perfect position for eight hours, and I don't expect you to.

In many cases, changing positions and moving periodically is more realistic than trying to hold yourself perfectly still all day.

Sit differently.

Stand up.

Walk around for a minute.

Change positions.

If you have a sit-to-stand desk, use both positions instead of deciding that standing all day must automatically be better than sitting all day.

Your body likes movement.

What About Standing Desks?

I like them.

But buying a standing desk doesn't mean you should suddenly stand for eight hours.

You've just traded one position for another.

The benefit is having another option.

Sit for a while. Stand for a while. Move around when you can.

That's usually more practical than trying to find one "perfect" working position and staying there all day.

Your Car Counts Too

People think about ergonomics at a desk but often forget about their car.

If you have a long commute or drive for work, you may spend a significant part of your week sitting behind the wheel.

We can talk about things like seat position, how far you are from the steering wheel, lumbar support, and what you're doing during long drives.

And if you keep your wallet in your back pocket and then sit on it for two hours every day, take it out.

Sometimes the advice really is that simple.

How Are You Sleeping?

This comes up constantly with neck and back patients.

I'll ask:

• What position do you sleep in?
• What kind of mattress do you have?
• How old is it?
• What pillow are you using?

I'm a big fan of Tempur-Pedic mattresses. That doesn't mean you need to go buy one because Dr. Kyle said so.

Mattresses are personal.

But if you're sleeping seven or eight hours a night, what you're sleeping on is worth discussing.

And pillows are something we've taken a little further in our office.

Yes, We Actually Measure You for a Pillow

We've offered Pillowise custom-fit pillows since 2019. The current page mentions this service, but I think it deserves much more attention because it's something genuinely different about your office.

Instead of grabbing a random "chiropractic pillow" off a shelf, we physically measure you.

Those measurements are used to determine the appropriate Pillowise pillow size for your body.

I like this because pillows aren't one-size-fits-all.

Someone with broad shoulders may need something completely different from someone with a much smaller frame.

If you're constantly waking up with neck pain, headaches, stiffness, or you're never comfortable on your pillow, we can take a look at what you're sleeping on and see whether changing it makes sense.

Lifestyle Matters Too

Sometimes the conversation has nothing to do with a chair or pillow.

Maybe you've gained some weight.

Maybe you stopped exercising.

Maybe you're sleeping four or five hours a night.

Maybe work has gotten crazy and you're spending more time sitting than you used to.

Maybe you've gone from being active five days a week to barely moving.

I'm not here to lecture you.

I just want to recognize the things that may be contributing to why you're hurting.

And I'm definitely not going to tell you that every ache or pain can be fixed by "living a healthier lifestyle."

Sometimes something is actually injured and needs treatment.

But when there are realistic changes that might help, we should talk about them.

What About Lifting and Body Mechanics?

If you hurt every time you perform a certain movement, I want to see how you're doing it.

That could be:

• Lifting something at work
• Picking up your child
• Moving boxes
• Working in the yard
• Exercising
• Reaching overhead
• Getting in and out of a vehicle
• Repeating the same movement hundreds of times at work

Sometimes the movement itself isn't necessarily "bad."

Maybe you're doing too much of it.

Maybe you're fatigued.

Maybe you're compensating because something else isn't moving well.

Or maybe changing the way you're doing it really would help.

Rather than giving everyone the same generic advice to "lift with your legs," I'd rather look at what you're actually doing.

I Want Changes You Can Actually Make

This is probably the biggest thing.

There's no point in me giving you an ergonomics checklist with 25 things you're never going to do.

If I look at your workstation and see two obvious changes, let's start there.

If your pillow is terrible, let's address the pillow.

If you're sitting for four straight hours without getting up, let's figure out a realistic way to break that up.

Small changes that you actually make are more useful than a perfect plan you ignore.

That's how I approach this stuff.

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