{"id":924847,"date":"2026-10-12T01:22:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T01:22:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/924847\/"},"modified":"2026-10-12T01:22:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T01:22:15","slug":"physiotherapist-tips-to-avoid-pain-from-sitting-all-day-for-work-in-the-office-or-working-from-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/924847\/","title":{"rendered":"Physiotherapist tips to avoid pain from sitting all day for work in the office or working from home"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether you\u2019re in the office<\/a> or working from home<\/a>, sitting down most of the day due to the demands of a desk-based job<\/a> can have impacts on our bodies.<\/p>\n

But those little niggles and cricks, especially in the back, neck and shoulders, can be a sign \u2013 not that we\u2019re working too hard, but that we\u2019re not working correctly.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Whether in the office or at home, sitting all day for work can take its toll on our bodies. Here\u2019s what a physio suggests.\u00a0Louise Kennerley<\/p>\n

Contrary to belief, physios say it\u2019s not the ergonomic styling of your desk space that makes the main difference to how you feel at the end of a busy day.<\/p>\n

UK-based specialist Katie Knapton tells nine.com.au it\u2019s not about where we work \u2013 be it in the home or the office \u2013 but how we work.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s rarely just about posture,\u201d she says, adding: \u201cI\u2019d particularly think beyond the desk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Knapton says musculoskeletal symptoms are influenced by \u201ca combination of physical, psychological and social factors\u201d.<\/p>\n

Think about your whole day, not just work day<\/p>\n

Knapton, chair of Physio First and a member of UK\u2019s Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, says good or bad musculoskeletal health doesn\u2019t exist in isolation \u2013 it goes beyond your desk or screen height.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s another reason to think about the whole working day, rather than just someone\u2019s chair or posture,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe certainly see neck, shoulder, upper limb and back pain, but these are very common problems and usually have multiple contributing factors.<\/p>\n

“Physical activity, sleep, stress, wellbeing and our wider working environment can all play a part.”<\/p>\n

So if you’ve got a sore neck or a pain in the lower back from bashing away at the keyboard all day, Knapton says look to other issues in your day, such as staying in the one position too long.<\/p>\n

“Movement and variation are often underestimated,” she says.<\/p>\n

The perfect set-up doesn\u2019t exist, but this can help<\/p>\n

Knapton says while there\u2019s no \u201cperfect set-up\u201d for our desks, there are a number of tweaks we can make to ensure some basic ergonomic advantages make you more comfortable.<\/p>\n

\u201cThink about your screen position so you\u2019re not constantly looking significantly down, up or to one side,\u201d she advises. <\/p>\n

\"Ergonomic<\/p>\n

Knapton says while there\u2019s no \u201cperfect set-up\u201d, there are a number of tweaks we can make to ensure some basic ergonomic advantages make you more comfortable.\u00a0 Jo Gay\/The Age<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re using a laptop for long periods, a separate keyboard and mouse can give you more flexibility with screen position. Aim for a comfortable chair and work surface, with your keyboard, mouse and other regularly used equipment within easy reach.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlso, consider the simple things such as lighting, glare from windows, screen brightness and text size.\u201d<\/p>\n

Knapton says for people who are on the phone all day, they may find a headset more comfortable than holding a phone or wedging it between their ear and neck.<\/p>\n

But, the expert says, even the most beautifully designed ergonomic workstation doesn\u2019t remove the need to move. <\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

Knapton suggests using things like getting water or a drink as excuses to stand up and move around,\u00a0iStockphoto<\/p>\n

\u201cThe aim is comfort and variety, not achieving a mythical perfect posture,\u201d Knapton tells nine.com.au.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd modification isn\u2019t only about equipment. Look at meeting patterns, workload, proper breaks and whether working from home has quietly extended your working day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Feel the flow<\/p>\n

Knapton says there isn\u2019t a magic point at which your posture suddenly becomes harmful, so there aren\u2019t any advantages to be had from rigid rules like walking around every 30 minutes.<\/p>\n

But there are some quick and easy things we can do to feel a little less stiff at the end of the workday and this boils down to Knapton\u2019s three key principles: Move, Modify, Manage.<\/p>\n

\u201cBuild regular movement and changes of position naturally into your day,\u201d Knapton advises. <\/p>\n

\u201cStand while you\u2019re on the phone, walk between online meetings, get a drink, use the stairs, go outside at lunchtime or simply change how you\u2019re sitting. There isn\u2019t one perfect posture. Our bodies like movement and variety.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of this sounds obvious, but that doesn\u2019t mean we\u2019re doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The WFH conundrum<\/p>\n

Knapton says for a lot of us, working from home, has extended our workdays and therefore we spend more time sitting in front of the laptop.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Knapton says for a lot of us, working from home has extended our workdays and therefore we spend more time sitting in front of the laptop.\u00a0iStock<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking from home isn\u2019t inherently better or worse for our bodies,\u201d Knapton says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can actually give us more flexibility and potentially more opportunity to move. The issue is how we work from home.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor some people it can mean longer hours, fewer natural breaks, less incidental movement, prolonged time in one position, increased stress and more blurred boundaries between work and home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Knapton says the biggest difference for our bodies once you remove the commute is the incidental exercise we get along the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s incredibly easy when working from home to go from one online meeting to another, work through lunch and suddenly realise you\u2019ve barely moved or left the house all day,\u201d she tells nine.com.au.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t necessarily need expensive equipment or complicated exercise programmes. Move regularly, vary your position, make your workspace comfortable, take proper breaks and get outside when you can. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe important thing is actually building those simple things into the working day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Knapton says people shouldn\u2019t \u201cpanic at the first ache\u201d and advises to stay active and make sensible adjustments. <\/p>\n

But, if the symptoms persist, worsen or significantly affect what you can do, then you should seek an individual assessment.<\/p>\n

Desk exercises<\/p>\n

While Knapton is hesitant to prescribe complicated exercises to patients, she says these simple moves can help people who are desk-bound a lot of the day feel a little more limber.<\/p>\n

Sit to stand: stand up from your chair and sit back down several times, or do a few squats if you prefer.<\/p>\n

Move your upper body: reach your arms overhead, roll your shoulders and gently rotate from side to side. It doesn\u2019t need to be a formal stretch. Just move.<\/p>\n

Walk: get away from the desk and walk around the room, up the stairs or, even better, outside for a few minutes.<\/p>\n

As someone who works from home most of the week, I can attest that keeping these simple ideas of extra movement in mind do make a difference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Whether you\u2019re in the office or working from home, sitting down most of the day due to the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":924848,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[64,63,137],"class_list":["post-924847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/924847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=924847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/924847\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/924848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=924847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=924847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=924847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}