How to Properly Use a Back Cushion

Suffering from back pain on a daily basis is a sad reality for many people who work at a desk every day. Setting for so many hours every day can put a lot of stress and strain on your back if you are not providing it with the proper support. Most people are not setting themselves up for success if their goal is not to have chronic back pain. 

How to Avoid Chronic Back Pain

You can do several things to avoid dealing with chronic back pain, and these are just a few examples…

  • Invest In a Back Cushion

To avoid back pain, you must make sure that you are providing your back with adequate support. For example, you will want to invest in a cushion that will support your lower back. This type of support is known as lumbar support.

  • Adjust the Your Desk Chair

When you sit in your desk chair and place both of your feet flat on the floor, your knees should be parallel with your hips and at a 90-degree angle. Make sure you adjust your chair to this height to avoid unnecessary strain on your back and hips. 

  • Adjust Your Monitor Height

The height of your monitor has a direct effect on the posture you will maintain while sitting at your desk. The only way to avoid suffering from chronic back pain is to make sure you are using the correct posture at all times. Adjust the height of your monitor so that the center of the monitor is just above your eye level when you are sitting in your desk chair with the correct posture. 

  • Invest in a Seat Cushion

Sitting at your desk all day places extra pressure on all the bones and joints located in your lower back—most chairs provide the proper support to help and spread this extra pressure correctly. Make sure to invest in a seat cushion that will help to spread it evenly throughout your hips and thighs. A seat cushion will help you to avoid chronic lower back pain. 

  • Get Up and Move

Sitting for hours at a time, no matter how much support your chair provides, is not suitable for your overall health. Make sure that you are getting up every few hours and taking a lap around the office or going to grab a drink of water. Taking regular breaks will help you to be more productive and help to relieve any stiffness or achiness. 

Find the Best Back Support

A healthy spine has a concaved curve in the lower back, but most chairs do not support this area. If you look at most chairs, you will notice that the backs of all these chairs are straight. If you think of your back and the back of your chair as 2 puzzle pieces, you will notice a gap when you try and put them together.

A back cushion can help fill that gap and ensure that your spine receives the support it needs to remain correctly aligned throughout the whole day. Without this additional support, you will have to rely on your core muscles to help you maintain good posture. If you are only sitting for a short period, this is possible. However, your core muscles will tire quickly, and you will begin to slump over time, causing your spine to become unaligned and back pain to start to develop.

The best back cushion will attach directly to your chair and support your lower back. You will want to choose a cushion that is…  

  • Firm & Soft

You will want your cushion to be firm enough to support your lower back but soft enough also to be comfortable. 

  • Washable

Since this is a cushion you will be using daily, you want to make sure the pillow can easily clean. The ideal back cushion will be machine washable so that you can clean it regularly.

  • Made of Breathable Material

You will want to choose a back cushion made of material that will allow for airflow. You do not wish to select a material that will hold heat and cause you to be uncomfortable. 

Use Your Back Cushion Correctly

For your back cushion to be effective, you must use it correctly. This means you must place it correctly on the back of your chair. You want the cushion to fill in the gap between the chair and your lower back. You also need to make sure that your chair is at the proper height. 

You will know that your chair is at the proper height when you can place both of your feet flat on the floor, and the bend of your knees creates a ninety-degree angle. Having your seat at this height will align your hips correctly. You also need to make sure that your monitor is at the correct height.  As long as you set yourself up for success, you can kiss chronic back pain goodbye. Soon the daily aches and pains you feel will only be a figment of your imagination.