Tips to maintain neutral body posture at your workstation

To understand the best way to set up a computer workstation, it is helpful to understand the concept of neutral body positioning. This is a comfortable working posture in which your joints are naturally aligned, not hyperextended but rather stacked directly on top of one another. Working with the body in a neutral position reduces stress and strain on the muscles, tendons, and bony structures and reduces your risk of developing a musculoskeletal disorder or overuse injury.

The following are important considerations when attempting to maintain neutral body postures while working at the computer workstation in a seated position:

  • Hands, wrists, and forearms should be straight, in-line and roughly parallel to the floor.
  • Head should be level, forward facing, with your chin parallel to the floor and tucked. Vertically align your ear, shoulder and hip.
  • Set up your monitor so that the top most line of work is approximately at eye level.
  • Your viewing distance should be approximately 40- 76 cm from eye to monitor.
  • Shoulders are relaxed; rolled up, back and down to achieve a neutral scapular position. Keep your chest open and arms positioned at the side of the body. Raise the chair until your elbows are at the height of the keyboard.
  • Keep the keyboard in close proximity to avoid reaching forward.
  • Keep the mouse in close proximity and alongside the keyboard.
  • Keep your elbows close to your body and bent between 90 and 120 degrees.
  • Your chair’s armrests should either be supporting your forearms or underneath the desk.
  • Feet need to be flat, fully supported by the floor or a footrest and your ankles uncrossed.
  • Back should be fully supported with appropriate lumbar support, ensuring that you are seated all the way back in your chair, optimising the degree of support.
  • Thighs and hips should be neutral (not tilted forward into an anterior tilt with your back arching, or tilted back into a posterior tilt -slumped position). Thighs should be near parallel to the floor.
  • Knees uncrossed, in line with your hips and placed slightly lower than the level of your hips with your feet slightly forward and hip width apart.