LEGALLY HEALTHY Health & Lifestyle Strategies For Attorneys In The Case Of Their Lives

Are you sitting up straight right now?

The negative health consequences of poor posture are significant. Yet, the subject doesn’t often make headlines or onto the list of topics for office chatter.  Hunched shoulders, forward-leaning heads and rounded spines run rampant. Look around and notice the posture of your colleagues as they work or talk on the phone. It’s not a pretty sight.  Poor posture can impact brain and organ function, metabolism and balance, among other critical things.  It doesn’t scream “powerful attorney,” either.

The main culprit is poor ergonomics at our desks and workstations.  The good news is that this is easy to fix!

Here are 6 ways to improve your posture through proper ergonomics: 

1. When using your smartphone to text or read email, hold it close to your eye level.  Keeping the phone near your lap ensures forward shoulder posture and a drooping head.  Notice the difference in your posture as you raise your phone closer to eye level.

2. Bend your elbows to 90-degrees when typing at your desk.  If your keyboard height is fixed, adjust your seat height and your body position in relation to the keyboard.  Position your hands in the typing position and adjust your chair until your arms are at the desired angle. Put a post-it note on your screen to remind you to sit upright and with relaxed shoulders.  Your knees should be bent at a 90-degree angle and your feet should rest on the floor.  If you cannot achieve this, a footstool (or a stack of Law Digests) will do the trick.

3. Lumbar support is an important consideration for proper posture.  Many desk chairs are made with adjustable lumbar support that should be set for the convex surface of the chair to match the concave curve of your lower spine.  If positioned too high, the support will push you forward and will fatigue your neck and back muscles.  If it’s too low, it will cause you to slouch.  Either way, improper lumbar support will interfere with your ability to concentrate – – and you don’t want that!

4. Once you have your chair and desk in their proper positions, set your computer monitor at eye level.  Raise your monitor with a stand or rest it on top of books, if necessary, to reach the desired height.  If you work with a laptop, consider getting a detachable keyboard so you can raise the monitor while still keeping your arms bent at 90-degrees.

5. When using reference material as you type, position them at eye level.  You can get a small clip with an arm that attaches to the monitor to hold documents or a book stand to prop texts next to your computer.

6. Hold your phones. Most lawyers spend countless hours on the phone each day, both in the office and on the go.  Holding the phone on your shoulder is a posture disaster.  Having your head and neck tilted and your shoulder hunched for long periods of time will inevitably lead to poor posture and eventually to pain.  Using a headset is an easy fix.  There are many styles readily available for both your office phone and for your cell phone, too.  Get one for each – – and remember to use them!

We hope that this post raised your awareness of how your ergonomics at work may be having a negative impact on your health.  Try to implement as many of these changes as you can in your office and in your life.  Even making one small change can make a huge difference!  

Let us know how it goes for you in the comments below.  We’d love to hear about it!

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Legally Healthy provides solutions and strategies to double your downtime, restore your energy and manage your stress without overwhelm, struggle or leaving the law.