With the start of the school year approaching, many students are returning to e-learning formats. Students are commonly not used to sitting in front of a computer all day for school learning. Within the in-person environment, students aren’t always in front of a computer screen and generally move in the classroom or when they switch classrooms. With e-learning at home, students may be more sedentary. Neck and back pain complaints are often seen after periods of prolonged sitting, especially with poor posture. Parents and students can use these tips to help in preventing back and neck pain as students return to e-learning this year.
Body awareness is something we learn as we get older, knowing where we are in our space or paying attention to what we do. When we have body awareness, we can self-correct bad postures. Ask your students if they are studying while sitting on their bed, hunched forward off the couch, or complaining of more pain after sitting in a certain position.
Most homes are not set up to have child size desks available. When picking your area for e-learning, make sure it is the appropriate size for your child. Sit with feet flat on the floor and pick a stable surface to sit on. Adjust the height of your desk or table so the child can look straight ahead at the computer screen. You can use a stack of books to raise the height of the laptop. Try to have forearms, chin and thighs all be in flat lines when sitting at your designated desk space.
Example of setting up your child’s desk
Set a timer for every 30 minutes to give your child a break to move around. They can walk around the room, use the restroom or get a drink of water. The intention of the break is to move out of whatever posture they have been sitting in. Even little movements during these breaks can help prevent future stiffness!
Use these tips to help your student return to school pain-free! If you begin to have neck or back pain, contact an Athletico clinic for a free assessment. Assessments are available in clinic and virtually through our telehealth platform.
The Athletico blog is an educational resource written by Athletico employees. Athletico bloggers are licensed professionals who abide by the code of ethics outlined by their respective professional associations. The content published in blog posts represents the opinion of the individual author based on their expertise and experience. The content provided in this blog is for informational purposes only, does not constitute medical advice and should not be relied on for making personal health decisions.
1 Comment
Sumita Mukherjee
This is so nice of you to think about the well-being of students. Indeed many have faced these problems during their class, and most of them usually just change their body position. It is effective but only for a limited time. I would definitely recommend these to my students as well as teachers for their ultimate effort.