There's something I notice almost systematically in practice, during first consultations for cervical or lower back pain.
When I ask my patients to describe their typical day, the answer is often the same: "I sit in front of my screen, I don't do anything in particular."
That's precisely the problem. It's not what they do — it's what they don't do, and the way the body adapts, hour after hour, to a position it was never designed to hold.
Here are the five mistakes I encounter most often — and what I explain to correct them.
Mistake 1 — The screen is too low
This is mistake number one, by far the most common. The screen sits on the desk, the gaze drops slightly downward, and the head follows — centimetre by centimetre, without anyone noticing.
What this creates: forward head posture. In neutral position, your head weighs around 5 kg. Move it 5 cm forward and it exerts the equivalent of 15-20 kg of tension on the neck muscles. Multiplied by eight hours of work, five days a week — that's a significant load.
The correction is simple: the top edge of your screen should be at eye level. Not the centre — the top edge. If you use a laptop, a riser stand with an external keyboard is essential.
Mistake 2 — The chair is badly adjusted
Most of my patients have never adjusted their chair. They sit down, and the chair adapts — or rather, their body adapts to the chair.
What I observe: either the chair is too low, which forces the knees above the hips and tilts the pelvis backwards, flattening the natural lumbar curve. Or it's too high, leaving the feet hanging and creating tension under the thighs.
The correct adjustment: feet flat on the floor, knees at 90°, hips slightly above the knees. The back should touch the backrest — not float in space. If your chair has no lumbar support, a rolled cushion or towel placed in the curve of the lower back does exactly the same job.
Mistake 3 — Shoulders creeping up
This one is subtle — and that's what makes it dangerous. Nobody thinks "I'm going to raise my shoulders." It happens gradually, under the effect of stress, concentration, or simply a poorly positioned mouse.
Shoulders that stay slightly raised toward the ears — even a few millimetres — keep the trapezius muscles in a state of permanent contraction. It's this chronic tension that creates the diffuse pain between the shoulder blades and the stiff neck feeling at the end of the day.
What I tell my patients: place your hands on your thighs. Inhale slowly. As you exhale, consciously let your shoulders drop. Do this three times. Notice the difference. Repeat every hour.
Mistake 4 — No active breaks
The body wasn't designed for stillness. It was designed for movement — varied, regular, in all directions.
What I observe in my remote-working patients: they can stay in the same position for two, three, sometimes four hours without moving. Not for lack of willpower — through concentration, habit, and the absence of time markers.
What I recommend: one minute of movement every fifty minutes. Not necessarily exercise — stand up, walk to the window, roll your shoulders, stretch laterally. The goal is simple: change the body's position to interrupt the patterns of compression.
Mistake 5 — Forgetting to breathe
This is the least visible mistake — and perhaps the most impactful.
In prolonged sitting, under the effect of stress and concentration, breathing becomes upper chest breathing: shallow, rapid, limited to the upper third of the lungs. The diaphragm barely works. The accessory breathing muscles — in the neck and shoulders — compensate constantly.
Result: aggravated cervical tension, a state of chronic nervous system vigilance, and reduced muscle recovery.
The correction: two to three minutes of conscious diaphragmatic breathing, twice a day. One hand on the abdomen, the other on the chest. Inhale feeling the abdomen rise — not the chest. Exhale slowly. It's measurable, it's physiological, and it's free.
What these five mistakes have in common
They're invisible. They don't hurt immediately. They build up gradually, hour after hour, day after day — exactly as your body records them, without you knowing.
This is what I call silent signals. Your body sends them long before the pain truly surfaces. The question is: are you listening?
The tools I've selected in the boutique follow this same logic — supporting good positions, facilitating recovery, and giving your body the stimuli it needs so it doesn't have to compensate indefinitely. You'll find them in our Postural Alignment & Comfort and Soothing Heat & Comfort collections.
— Physical Therapist, founder of Reprogrammer Boutique