Sitting at a desk all day? Advice from a physio

You're fine at nine. By three your shoulders have crept up towards your ears and your lower back is aching against the chair.

Here's the honest version of what's going on, and what actually helps.

It isn't your posture

The research linking particular sitting positions to pain is much weaker than the internet suggests. People with what looks like textbook posture get back pain, and people slouched in an armchair often don't.

What does show up consistently is that staying in one position for hours is uncomfortable, and that low general activity and a stressful job make everything more sensitive.

So the best posture really is the next one.

The five things that help most

1. Get up every half hour

This is the single most effective item on the list and the one people are most likely to ignore. Set something to remind you if you need to. Even standing for a minute counts.

2. Raise your screen to eye height

If you work on a laptop all day, a stand and a separate keyboard will do more than almost any chair. Laptops force you to choose between your neck and your wrists.

3. Walk at lunchtime

Ten minutes outside breaks the day in a way your body notices. It also does more for the afternoon slump than another coffee.

4. Build some general strength

Holding yourself up all day is easier when it's a smaller percentage of what you're capable of. Two sessions a week is enough to change how the working day feels.

5. Watch the weeks, not the days

Symptoms usually build across a heavy fortnight rather than appearing on one bad day. If you know a busy stretch is coming, that's the time to be deliberate about the first four points.

What about the standing desk?

They're useful, and standing still for eight hours has its own problems. The benefit comes from switching between positions rather than from standing itself.

When to get it looked at

If it's been going on more than a few weeks, if it's waking you at night, or if you have numbness, weakness or pins and needles in your arms or legs, book in rather than adjusting your chair again.