Ergonomic Desk Setup for Hypermobility
I have a office-based job, which means long periods of time sat at my desk. I also work on a hybrid basis, therefore I require a comfortable desk setup not only when I'm working in the office, but also when I work from home. I've suffered from many repetitive strain injuries related to my hypermobility and poor desk setup in the past. Whilst sitting for long periods of time is not ideal for a hypermobility sufferer, you can limit the impact of this by setting up your desk ergonomically and investing in some of the products that I recommend below.
Desk Setup
It's vital that you arrange your home and office desk in a manner that reduces the strain on your joints and ligaments as a hypermobility sufferer. The key points to implement are;
1. The top of your screen should be level with your eyes
2. Your screen should be roughly an arm's length from your eyes
3. Your elbows should be at roughly 90 degrees when using your keyboard and mouse
4. Your feet should touch the floor. If they don't, use a foot rest
5. Everything on your desk should be within easy reach to prevent over-stretching
The best video I've seen to explain how to setup your desk (produced by the Wall Street Journal) can be found at the link below.
Take frequent breaks
No matter how well your desk is set up, sitting in the same position for long periods of time will be detrimental to your body as a hypermobility sufferer.
1. Take frequent breaks from sitting, ideally every 30 minutes but at least once an hour. Take a walk and have a stretch.
2. Mobilise your body with stretches throughout the day. There's a great 7 minute video from STRETCHIT that you can build into your daily routine which will help your body from getting stiff.
Ergonomic chair
Having worked in office jobs for nearly 20 years, it's been a real problem to find a chair that supports my body and enables an ergonimic posture. The RH Logic 400 is fully customisable in terms of height, back angle, lumbar support, arm support and neck support. The chair enables you to sit with your spine in its natural S shape. There are two features that, in my opinion, really make it stand out from other chairs. Firstly, the lumbar support, which has a button you can press to inflate it to provide more support or deflate to reduce the support. Secondly, it has an optional neck support which you can adjust to take the weight of your head. This is a fairly expensive chair, but they are durable (mine has lasted 10 years and is still in good condition) and by the far the most comfortable office chair I have sat in.
Adjustable standing desk
As per the video on setting up your desk above, it's imperative to set your desk up at the right height to enable an ergonomic posture. When Covid came along and I had to work from home every day, working from the dining table just didn't work for me. I bought the FLEXISPOT Essential Electric Standing Desk. The desk can easily be put together at home, and it comes with an electric motor to change the height. This is useful to get the desk to the best height for you whilst sitting, but the height adjustment range is from 73cm to 121cm which means it can also be used as a standing desk. I found this very useful to give myself a break from sitting all day. The desk surface comes in various sizes to suit the space you have at home. I have the 120x60cm size which is plenty of space to accommodate my laptop, screen, mouse and keyboard.
Ergonomic verticle mouse
I used to get a lot of pain from the repetitive strain on my hand and wrist from using a normal mouse. I was advised by my physiotherapist to get a mouse which enables my hand to stay in a neutral position. To this end, I swear by the Air02bic mouse. This mouse looks kinda weird, but it keeps your hand in a vertical and neutral position. Not only that, it comes with optional software that clicks for you which further rests your hand from that repetitive task. Unfortunately, I think this mouse has been discontinued. However, you can still buy them. I bought two from eBay recently so I'd start your search there. Bear in mind that there is a left-hand and right-handed version of this mouse.
Keyboard
I've found that a normal size keyboard is too wide to enable me to position the keyboard in front of me to type, as well as having the mouse in a comfortable position. The Perixx PERIBOARD is slimmer than a normal keyboard (it basically doesn't have the number grid to the right), and solves this desk configuration problem.
Adjustable Screen
As per the video above, you must set the height of your screen so that the top is level with your eyes. I found this to be a challenge and often had to sit my screen on something such as a stack of books to get it to the right height. The Dell P2422H 24 Inch Full HD Monitor enables you to tilt, swivel, pivot and adjust its for extra comfort during work. Or you can just put your screen on your least favourite books!
Footrest
When you're sitting at your desk, your feet much be touching the ground and if not you must use a footrest. I've found if I don't do this I experience knee pain due to the strain on my joints. I bought the HUANUO footrest for my home office. It has three height settings and it pivots by 30 degrees either way so you can adjust the angle your feet meet it to your comfort. It even has a massager for your tired feet in the middle.
Anti Fatigue Mat
If you have a standing desk like the one I have recommended above you may find you substitute the strains from sitting with new ones from standing! I have found that the Prism Anti Fatigue Mat is helpful in minimising these. It feels soft on my feet, so it takes longer for my feet to get tired from standing. I also feel like it's softer on my knees and hips. I'd still recommend alternating between standing and sitting throughout the day to give your body a break from any one position.
Handheld Mouse
Sometimes I like to sit on the sofa to use my laptop, and leaning over and using the trackpad is hard on my joints. The Minidiva Wireless Handheld Mouse is the best option that I've found for navigating my laptop away from a desk. You can hold the mouse in a position that is comfortable for your arm, move the cursor with the trackball and click with the trigger underneath. Using any mouse for an extended period of time may bring on hypermobility-related symptoms, but I've found this one to be relatively kind to my body.
Adjustable Sofa Table
Continuing the theme of using your laptop on the sofa, I would get terrible neck pain from haunching over the laptop and not having the screen at eye level. This Height Adjustable C Shape Side Table has a base that will slip under most sofas, so you can sit on an end seat and adjust the height so the top of the laptop screen is level with your eyes. I have a recliner sofa, and it slides under the leg support when the sofa is reclined and I'm sat upright. I wouldn't recommend working all day on your sofa but this can be another option to break up the positions your body is in to reduce repetitive strain injuries.
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