Are Office Workers Sitting Themselves Into Pain? A New Study Says… Yes!
- Julian Simpson
- 11 hours ago
- 3 min read
Are Office Workers Sitting Themselves Into Pain? A New Study Says… Yes!
And here’s what you can do about it
If you spend your days at a desk, attached to a screen, sitting in a chair that may or may not be older than your career… this one’s for you.
A recent study looked at 99 office workers aged 28–50 and found something wildly relatable: more than 80% were experiencing musculoskeletal pain. Yep—8 out of 10 desk workers were sore somewhere.
Let’s break down what the researchers discovered (and how Health Wise Chiropractic can help you avoid being part of that statistic!).
Where Does It Hurt Most?
The most common trouble spots were:
Neck pain – 58.6%
Lower back pain – 52.5%
Shoulder pain – 37.4%
Knees – 34.3%
Upper back – 21.2%
Even more concerning? Over 37% of workers had taken time off work due to pain—most commonly from lower back issues.
If you’ve ever had to explain to HR that your neck is “stuck,” you’re not alone.
What’s Causing All This Pain?
The study used an ergonomic tool (ROSA) to assess each workstation… and let’s just say the results weren’t pretty.
The biggest culprits:
🪑 Your Chair
It scored worst overall. The most common problems were:
Seat too high
Seat too low
Seat NOT adjustable at all (a chiropractor’s nightmare)
Poor chair height was linked to more knee, shoulder, and upper back pain.
🖥 Your Monitor Setup
Common issues included:
Screen too high
Screen too low
No document holder
Twisted or off-centre screens
These were strongly linked to neck pain.
🖱 Your Mouse & Keyboard
Frequent problems included:
Mouse not aligned with the shoulder
Keyboard too high
Reaching forward too much
These were tied to shoulder and upper back issues.
In short: your desk setup is silently sabotaging your spine.
It’s Not Just the Desk… Stress and Phones Matter Too
The study also found:
People with pain reported higher job stress
More mobile phone use = more neck and low back pain
Managers had more low back pain (hello meetings, deadlines, and endless emails)
Men reported more neck and shoulder pain than women
And here’s a fun twist: being more physically active reduced low back pain. Shocking, right?
So What Can You Do?
Good news: most of these issues are super fixable.
✔ Adjust your seat height
Feet flat, hips slightly above knee level.
✔ Bring your screen to eye level
Your head weighs about 5kg—give your neck a break.
✔ Keep your mouse close
No more reaching like you're trying to grab the remote without getting off the couch.
✔ Take movement breaks
Every 30–45 minutes. Even 30 seconds helps.
✔ Manage stress
Your muscles feel it—even when you think you’re “just tired.”
✔ Book a chiropractic check-in
Chiropractic care helps address the stiffness, alignment issues, and muscle tension that build up from prolonged sitting.
The Takeaway?
Office workers aren’t doomed to discomfort—you just need better ergonomics, better habits, and a healthier spine.
At Health Wise Chiropractic, we help desk workers every day relieve pain, improve posture, and build workspaces (and bodies!) that can keep up with modern office life.
If you’re feeling the neck, back, or shoulder tension this study highlights…let’s fix it before it becomes a bigger problem.
Posture Correction Chiropractor
Q: Can chiropractic correct bad posture?Yes, chiropractic care can help realign the spine and retrain muscles for better posture.
Q: What causes poor posture?Common causes include desk jobs, phone use, weak muscles, and spinal misalignments.
Q: How long does posture correction take?It varies — some patients notice changes within weeks, others need longer-term care.
Q: Can posture correction reduce pain?Yes, correcting posture often reduces back pain, neck pain, and headaches.
For more information about how we can help YOU with your pain and improve your underlying dysfunction so the problem doesn’t come back .
Please call Health Wise Chiropractic 03 9467 7889 or book online to see one of our Chiropractors in Sunbury or Melton/Strathtulloh Today!
We are also really proud to offer our patients an APP for their Mobile- iPad. With access to your rehab exercises and our health tip blogs with over 600 articles.
Chiropractic has moved online. We offer our online program -STAND CORRECTED- To help you through the day.
We have over 30 programs on different health conditions
Each program contains
- Information about the conditions
- things to do and things to avoid
- nutrition advice
- all the stretches that are needed to help
Mohammadian M, Mollahoseini S, Naghibzadeh-Tahami A. Musculoskeletal disorders among office workers: prevalence, ergonomic risk factors, and their interrelationships. Sci Rep. 2025 Nov 26. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-30155-6. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 4129869
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