Designing a Workstation That Supports Your Body

Happy New Year Reader,

I hope you had a restorative holiday season and a little space to reset at the turn of the year.

The new year naturally invites reflection on what worked, what didn’t, and how we want to move forward. If one of your intentions this year is to feel better in your body during the workday, this issue is for you.

For the first edition of Creating Health in the new year, I wanted to start with something practical. I received an email recently asking for my thoughts on desk chairs, and that question inspired this post as a reference guide for office and home-office setups.
Thank you H. for asking.

Ergonomics

“Ergonomics” is a fancy-sounding word that describes the thought and science that go into designing a work environment that supports the human body.

Many readers of Creating Health spend a good portion of their day at a desk, so that’s what I’ll focus on in this article. Most of these principles apply whether you work from home or in an office.

If your job looks different and you have ergonomic questions specific to your work, reply to this email. You may inspire a future issue.

A Note on Brands

Over the years, I’ve been asked for recommendations on everything from pillows and mattresses to office chairs and desks. I want to be clear that I have no affiliations, sponsorships, or incentives with any brands, now or in the past.

I rarely recommend specific products. When I do, it’s because I’ve personally used them and genuinely like them.

More importantly, I encourage simplicity and long-term reliance on movement, strength, and awareness rather than technological support. Tools can help, but they can never replace the body’s need to move and adapt.

Seating

I prefer minimal seating that encourages core engagement and allows for natural micro-movements.

I personally sit on a backless office stool. It keeps me upright, makes me shift positions often, and forces my core to participate. Yoga or Swiss balls are also good options for similar reasons.

The ability to fidget and subtly move throughout the day is one of the main strengths of these kinds of seating. When muscles stay relaxed for too long, pressure shifts away from soft tissues and settles into joints and bones instead. It may be more comfortable in the moment, but it’s not doing any favors for your longevity and resilience.

Our bodies are designed to hold tension in muscles and fascia, not joints. Keeping soft tissues active helps protect against joint degeneration and osteoarthritis.

In chiropractic school, a friend of mine used a kneeling chair. It looked unconventional, but it was surprisingly comfortable and supported a more upright posture. That can be another option if stools or balls feel impractical.

If none of these feel realistic, a simple, minimal office chair without excessive padding or aggressive lumbar support is often a better long-term choice than a heavily cushioned, highly adjustable chair. Over-reliance on external support frequently leads to a weaker core, muscle imbalances, and eventually neck or low-back issues that take time to work through.

If you’re buying new seating, treat it like a mattress: try it in person and pay attention to how your body responds.

Desks

A sit-stand desk is ideal because it allows for regular changes in position. Research shows people experience less musculoskeletal pain when they split their day roughly in half between sitting and standing.

I’d encourage going a step or two further and changing positions every hour (or more often even). Variety keeps tissues healthier and prevents you from locking into one posture for too long. Most modern sit-stand desks make this easy with the push of a button.

Many of you have heard me say at some point that posture muscles begin to deactivate after about 20 minutes of inactivity. Moving every 20–30 minutes helps reactivate these muscles and reduces sustained pressure on the spine.

You can also rotate seating styles throughout the day. For example:

• Yoga ball for an hour

• Standing for an hour

• Regular chair for an hour

This variation supports both physical health and mental focus.

For standing, an anti-fatigue foam mat can make a big difference. They’re inexpensive, durable, and reduce strain on the feet and legs.

Ergonomic Basics for Desk Work

This applies to sitting and standing:

• Elbows rest comfortably by your sides

• Forearms are parallel to the floor

• Head is level, as if resting on a shelf

• Top of the screen is at eye level, not below it

If you use a laptop, consider using a laptop stand with a separate keyboard and mouse so you can achieve the bullet points above.

Supplemental Resource

Here’s a clear, well-done overview of basic office ergonomics from the Mayo Clinic:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/office-ergonomics/art-20046169

I hope this serves as a helpful reference. As always, feel free to reply with questions.

Warmly,
Dr. Josh

P.S. If you know other office workers who could use this, feel free to share it. Small changes can make a meaningful difference over the course of a year.

Explore more resources:
For additional insights on health and wellness, visit my YouTube channel, where I share educational videos to support your journey.

Disclaimer:
This email is for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider for personalized health decisions.