My right shoulder started hurting about two years into working from home. It was a dull ache that got worse by 3pm every day. By 5pm I was holding my arm at a weird angle without realizing it. I thought I needed a standing desk. I thought I needed a fancy chair.

I needed to move my monitor six inches. That was the whole fix. The shoulder pain stopped in three days.

Why Your Shoulders Hurt at a Desk

When your monitor is too low, you tilt your head down and round your shoulders forward. Your trapezius muscles — the ones that run from your neck to your shoulders — stay contracted all day to hold your head up against gravity. After a few hours, they fatigue. The fatigue becomes pain.

When your monitor is too high, you crane your neck up. Different muscles, same result. The body is not designed to hold one position for eight hours.

The Monitor Height Rule

Sit in your normal working position. Look straight ahead. The top of your monitor screen should align with your eye level. You should be able to see the entire screen without tilting your head up or down.

If your monitor is too low — which it probably is if you are using a laptop on a desk — stack it on books, a shoebox, or a monitor riser. I used a stack of hardcover books for three months before buying an actual stand. The books worked fine.

For a laptop, this means the screen is at eye level but the keyboard is now too high. Get a separate keyboard and mouse. A basic USB keyboard costs fifteen dollars. It is cheaper than physical therapy.

Two Stretches That Undo the Damage

Doorway chest stretch: Stand in a doorway. Put your forearms on each side of the frame at shoulder height. Lean forward gently until you feel a stretch across your chest. Hold thirty seconds. Do this three times a day. It reverses the forward-rounding that desk work causes.

Shoulder blade squeeze: Sit up straight. Pull your shoulder blades together like you are trying to hold a pencil between them. Hold five seconds. Release. Do ten reps. This strengthens the muscles that pull your shoulders back into proper alignment.

I do both of these every time I get up to refill my water. It takes thirty seconds and my shoulders have not hurt in months.