Navigating Back Pain: 3 Tips for Working from Home
In the past few years, COVID-19 has changed the work-lifestyle of a large chunk of our population. People are being told to work from home and some businesses have gone as far as completely getting rid of their traditional office spaces. Global Workplace Analytics estimates that up to 30% of the entire US workforce will being working from home in some capacity post-pandemic. For many, this transition to working from home is completely foreign and I have definitely noticed an uptick in desk-work related complaints during this time.
Many people don’t own typical ergonomic-friendly set ups at home and are suffering with new aches and pains they haven’t dealt with before. If this sounds like you, DON’T WORRY — I have some game changing tips for you. Also, check out the video below as I talk about these tips in more detail!
1. USE THE BACKREST ON YOUR CHAIR
I know. This seems like a really simple and “no-brainer” tip. But this is one of the most common adjustments I make with patients dealing with neck, shoulder, and back pain while sitting for work. Some sneaky factors such as having too tall a chair, being physically shorter in height, or just being unaware of your sitting habits are all common patterns seen in desk workers with these types of complaints. Be sure to sit your butt all the way to your back rest and relax your back in to your chair to allow your muscles to take a break rather than fighting to hold your body upright for 8 hours straight. You may need to find a footrest if you find your feet "floating” after changing your sitting position.
2. GIVE YOURSELF “MOVEMENT SNACKS”
One of the easiest ways to manage pain that is aggravated when sitting for long periods to to give yourself short breaks to MOVE. I usually recommend getting up for 1-2 minutes every hour. Your body craves movement. So give it some satisfaction by snacking during the day. You can use this time to do basic stretches or take a short walk. Just remember — taking breaks as been shown to increase workplace morale, productivity while working, and can help manage symptoms (read more HERE). Feel free to send that article to your boss when they want to talk about workplace productivity…
3. CHANGE IT UP — TRY DIFFERENT WORKING POSITIONS
The body can tolerate stress quite well when the stress/load it is managing is being shared. By changing up your work station/positioning throughout the day you are allowing the body to distribute the workload across different joints and muscle groups. This distribution of the workload allows your body to be less prone to developing some of the common aches and pains that plague many desk workers.
If you’re ready to take the guess-work out of managing the aches and pains you may be dealing with at work — let’s jump on a phone call. You can schedule one and talk directly to one of our expert physical therapists. Check out the link below!