At the end of your workday, do you have a headache, backache, or burning pain between your shoulders? Even if you don’t, you still benefit from knowing how to be fit while you sit. After all most problems we experience are attributed to things we do every single day, over and over again, 365 days a year. The best way to deal with a problem is to never have one in the first place!

When you look at your spine from the side, it has three curves, a forward curve in the lower back, a gentle sloping curve (opposite in direction) in the upper back, and a curve in the neck, which mimics the curve in the low back. These curves help form a spring protecting the spine from all the jarring and stress we put on it every single day. So the natural curves of the spine should be maintained as much as possible to avoid unnecessary wear and tear. Your goal is to keep the three natural curves of your spine in their natural balanced alignment. Maintaining this alignment creates the least mount of stress and pain to the joints, ligaments and muscles. Sitting in balance means you are working with gravity instead of against it. The muscles do not work as hard to maintain balance; the body feels less fatigued and can work more efficiently. Slouching causes unnecessary strain, which can lead to backache, stiffness, and muscle soreness.

So the idea is to protect our spine all day while we are at work. Most folks complain that they do not have good chairs at work. You do not have to spend lots of money to create a workstation appropriate for your body type. You just have to know what you are looking for and what is right for you.

First, when you sit in your chair, sit up nice straight and tall while scooting your fanny as far back as possible. This should help support your low back. If it does not, get a pillow or a lumbar cushion to slip behind your low back. You should feel as if your stomach is slightly sticking out. The seat of the chair should be wide enough to accommodate your backside and the seat pan should end approximately 1-3 inches before your knees. The chair should be high enough so that your hips are slightly higher than your knees while allowing your feet to rest comfortably on the floor. For the short folks, get a couple of phone books and rest your feet on top. If you feel self conscious like this at work, go buy you self a chair for $50. You spine is well worth the investment. Done correctly, it should be more comfortable to sit this way than to slump.

When you are working at your computer, the monitor should be about 2 feet in front of you, generally arm's length. If you cannot read the computer from that far away, change to a larger font! Slightly tilt the top of the monitor away from you, it helps with eyestrain. Work only with dark letters on a light background, this also helps with eyestrain, although most of us do this naturally. If you do a lot of data entry, get a document holder ($3) that attaches to the side of the monitor. This reduces a lot of stress focused on the lower neck and upper back. Your monitor screen should sit slightly below eye level. If it is not, get the phone books out, or start looking for your chair. A chair is a lot easier to replace then a desk station. If you are constantly on the phone get a headset at an X-mart ($10-15). This will keep you from holding the phone between you ear and shoulder, another biggie when it comes to spinal stress.

While typing, your keyboard should be level or at a slight downward tilt. Elbows should be at least at 90° or opened up slightly more. Wrists should be in a neutral position. Imagine a straight line going from your elbow through your forearm and wrist to your middle knuckle. You don’t want you wrists bending back towards you.

Take stretch breaks. We were not made to sit in the same position for 8 hours a day. Move it or lose it! Research shows those taking stretch breaks were in fact more productive than their stressed out and tense counter parts. There are many exercises and stretches you can do at your desk. You can time them to something you do frequently, like using a printer. To work you abdominals – sit with your buttocks against the back of a chair and tighten. The key to a good back -- good stomach muscles.

Remember that mom was right once again. Don’t slouch and sit up straight!

Remember regular chiropractic care is a must to keep those joints functioning properly.