Working from home offers unmatched flexibility. You can attend meetings in comfortable clothes, save on gas or transportation, and create a workspace that fully reflects your personality. But despite these perks, remote work is still office work—and your body faces the same challenges whether you’re at in a cubicle or at your kitchen table.
Many remote workers develop neck pain, back aches, and wrist discomfort whether they just got a new remote job or have been working from home for years. The culprit can be as simple as poor ergonomics—while it might feel luxurious to work from your couch, it’s not doing your spine any favors.
Effective ergonomics goes beyond purchasing trendy and expensive desks or an ergonomic mouse. It’s about understanding how your body moves, aligns, and functions throughout your workday. Small adjustments to your posture, workspace setup, and daily habits can prevent the chronic pain that plagues so many remote workers.
Do ergonomic accessories prevent wrist pain?
Walk into any office supply store and you’ll find shelves lined with ergonomic keyboards, vertical mice, lumbar support cushions, and adjustable monitor stands. These products promise to solve any desk-related discomfort, but will they really work for you?
Ergonomic accessories can certainly help improve your work from home ergonomics. An ergonomic keyboard may reduce awkward wrist angles that contribute to carpal tunnel syndrome. A supportive chair can help maintain your spine’s natural curve during the many hours you spend there. Monitor stands can eliminate the forward head lean that leads to neck pain.
However, these tools aren’t magic bullets. Repetitive strain injuries develop from sustained, repetitive motions over time. No matter how well-designed your mouse is, clicking and scrolling for hours without breaks will still stress your tendons and muscles. Even the most expensive ergonomic chair won’t help if you slouch in it all day.
Rather than relying solely on equipment, focus on correct desk ergonomics fundamentals: proper positioning, regular movement, and body awareness. These principles cost nothing and can deliver significant results.
Physical therapy principles for better ergonomics
Physical therapists have long understood that preventing workplace injuries requires more than just proper equipment. The most effective approach combines smart body mechanics with targeted strength training that address the root causes of desk-related pain.
Stretching and activity modification
Your body wasn’t designed to hold the same position for eight hours straight. Muscles that sit unmoving for long periods become tight, painful, or even weak from underuse. Regular stretching breaks this cycle.
Any amount of stretching throughout the day can help, but many people have found a rule of thumb to be helpful in organizing their breaks: the 20-20-20 rule. The 20-20-20 rule is primarily designed to prevent eye strain and also encourages movement: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. During some of these breaks, you can take a little more time to get up and stretch.
As you stretch, focus on areas that feel tight or stiff. Stretch your neck by gently tilting your head to each side, holding for 15-30 seconds. Combat rounded shoulders by clasping your hands behind your back and lifting your chest. Open tight hip flexors with a standing hip flexor stretch, stepping one foot back and pressing your hips forward.
Strengthening areas susceptible to pain and injury
Stretching addresses tight muscles, but strengthening exercises target weak ones that are prone to strain and pain. Many desk workers develop imbalances where certain areas have muscles that are rarely activated alongside muscles that are always active. Correcting these imbalances is crucial for long-term pain prevention.
Common areas people experience discomfort as work-from-home employees include:
- Deep neck flexors: These muscles support your head’s weight, weakening over time when you crane your neck forward to look at screens. Strengthen them with chin tuck exercises.
- Upper back muscles: The shoulders and upper back frequently become weak and overstretched when you sit all day. Combat this with wall slides, an exercise that strengthens these muscles and helps pull your shoulders back into proper alignment.
- Core muscles: Both your abs and the deep stabilizers around your spine support your entire torso while you sit for hours at a time. Planks, dead bugs, and bird dogs are excellent exercises for building core stability that translates to better posture during work hours.
This strengthening approach represents a leading prevention strategy for repetitive stress injuries. By addressing muscle imbalances before pain develops, you’re investing in your long-term comfort and productivity.
The power of a dedicated office space
Many remote workers start by setting up shop wherever feels convenient and available—the couch, kitchen table, or sometimes even the bed. While this flexibility seems appealing at first, it often leads to poor ergonomics and decreased productivity.
Creating a dedicated working space, even in a small apartment, offers significant benefits for your physical (and mental) health. When you have a consistent workspace, you have many more options to optimize the setup for proper ergonomics. Your monitor can be at the correct height, you’ll find a seat that fits in the space and supports your spine appropriately, and you can try different keyboard and mouse configurations that are comfortable and keep a neutral wrist alignment.
Psychological benefits accompany the physical ones. A designated work area helps your brain shift into “work mode” and makes it easier to “leave” work at the end of the day. This boundary helps to compartmentalize work stress and obligations from the rest of your life.
Your dedicated space doesn’t need to be large or expensive. Even a corner of your bedroom with a small desk works better than sprawling across your living room couch. The key is consistency—using the same setup every day allows you to fine-tune your ergonomics and develop healthy work habits.
If space is truly limited, consider a portable workstation setup. A laptop stand, external keyboard, and mouse can transform any table into an ergonomic workspace. Store these items in a basket or drawer, then set up your “office” each morning. This routine creates the structure and ergonomic benefits of a dedicated space without requiring a permanent room.
Personalized ergonomic recommendations at Excel Sports & PT
Working remotely has a ton of benefits but can often disguise the risks and pains associated with working where you live and vice versa. When you’re waking up with aches in your neck, shoulders, or wrists, it’s a sign that something may need to change.
Discover personalized recommendations, safe stretches and exercises, and more with an ergonomics evaluation at one of our PT clinics. Get the conversation started by calling one of our clinics throughout Greater St. Louis or by requesting an appointment online today.