One of the most common presentations I see is neck and back pain as a result of long hours of sitting at a desk.

Often, this can be avoided with a few simple changes to your desk set up.

Here are a few simple tips to optimise your desk set up at home or at work

1. Your Chair: push your hips as far back into the chair as possible. Make sure your feet are flat on the floor (or use a footrest), and that your hips are equal to or slightly higher than your knees.
2. Your Keyboard: keep your keyboard close to you, directly in front of your body. Keyboard height should enable your shoulders to be relaxed, elbows in by your side and your wrists and hands straight. Keep your mouse close to you too.
3. Your Screen: your screen should be directly in front of your body so that your neck remains in a neutral position. The height of the screen should enable you to look directly ahead, not up or down.
4. Your telephone: Keep your phone within easy reach of your screen. A headset is beneficial to avoid cradling the handset.
5. Breaks: even with optimal desk set up, it is still important to take short 1-2 minute breaks every 30 minutes or so to stretch, change positions and give your eyes a rest from the computer screen.