When we talk about ergonomics, we often think about avoiding back problems. After all, the lower back, middle back and neck are put under more strain when we sit still than we might think. Now that we all have to stay at home and telework, it is very important to understand what ergonomics is all about, also at home.

How do you recognize overburdening?

The first signs of overburdening come from our muscles. The longer you sit still, the less blood flows into your muscles, which causes cramps. If you choose a position that your muscles don't like, the cramps will become even more severe and intense. Muscle cramps hurt and that is exactly what we want to avoid. If we don't pick up these signals or if we don't tackle them, we might end up having chronic pain. Do you already have a history of back problems? Then be extra careful!

A few problems, but above all, their solutions:

• Prolonged sitting: take micro breaks! Leave your coffee in the kitchen, so you have no choice but to get up, for example, and do some stretching exercises every hour.
• Lots of sitting throughout the day: take an active afternoon and evening break, or go for a morning walk: a great way to start the day!
• Poor posture: how can you optimize your sitting posture? Look for a posture that is as neutral as possible in which your muscles have the least tendency to cramp up. Tip: have someone take a picture (side view) while you are sitting and go through our list below.

How can you optimize your sitting posture?

Many of us have no choice but to sit down for prolonged periods of time, but the least we can do is optimize our posture. Discover our tips.

• Keep you shoulders more or less in a straight line above the hips or a little behind (preferably supported by your backrest).
• Do not sag in the lower or upper back (do not curl up in your chair).
• Do not push your ribs forward (avoid a hollow lower back).
• Relax your shoulders (do not lift your shoulders).
• Keep your ears right above your shoulders in side view (if you look straight ahead, you should see the top edge of your screen).
• Keep your elbows in a line under your shoulders (preferably with your forearms supported by armrests; you do this by sliding your keyboard close to you).
• Move the keyboard away from your screen. If you're working on a laptop, it's best to place your screen at a height so that you're looking straight ahead at the top edge of your screen. Ideally, you should use a separate keyboard that you can slide as close to you as possible.

Challenge your overly comfortable working posture!

In other words, we have to try to make ourselves comfortable with as little equipment as possible. Are we going to wipe away all the consequences of sitting for a long time? Unfortunately not. At the end of the day, we are still sitting still.

We challenge you to make things a little less comfortable for yourself... Doesn't make sense? Well, by doing that, you challenge yourself to try other positions, which improves your posture. Now that you are at home and don't have to worry about people giving you a confused look, be creative. Try to challenge your posture by doing the following:

• Walk while you’re on the phone.
• Work standing up: do you have a party table somewhere? These are usually ideal in height.
• Work sitting on the floor, for example at your coffee table. Most of us will not sit comfortably, pushing us to get moving and try different sitting positions.

Try out as many positions as possible! You are working, you are in motion and your body is learning movements and positions again which it may not have been in for a long time (except in the yoga classes). Little by little, these positions will become more comfortable and your body will become healthier again!