Working At A Laptop All Day? 5 Things Physiotherapists Want You To Know In The Work From Home Scenario |
Posted: July 23, 2021 |
When work from home has become the new normal work pattern amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of people experience a surge in back and neck pain due to long working hours. Many of them have to start visiting GPs and physiotherapy clinics due to the severity of their pain. According to health experts, improper sitting postures, long working hours, and stress are the major reasons for pain occurrences. Now that it’s been more than a year we are working from home, it’s time to stop making the same work-from-home mistakes. Let’s have a look at some key advice shared by physiotherapists and health experts. 1. Your desk setup may not be the real villain for your back and neck pain.Most physiotherapists agree that they’ve seen increased musculoskeletal complaints, especially in the lower back and neck, because of the way people are working so far. However, what might surprise us is that it’s not necessarily the desk setup or our workspace at home causing the pain we are experiencing. Instead, what causes more adverse effects is that we are sitting long hours without taking movement breaks. 2. Your lack of movement is the real issue.Of course, poor posture during work may wreak havoc on our bodies. But it can’t overshadow the real issue that we’re moving less in the work-from-home scenario than we used to do in the office. Even activities like physical exercise or daily commutes, which we’d do on a regular basis, have taken a hit after the pandemic. We’ve massively reduced our physical activities and small movements that we used to do in the office. According to experts, ‘motion is lotion’ where we need to follow some steps such as –
3. Take care of your body as well as your mind.While most of us are concerned about postures, movements and adequate sleep to minimize our neck pain and backache, we often ignore how much impact stress can have on our body! The root for back and neck pain is not necessarily linked to our spine or body tissues, but it’s often bio-psychosocial. Working from home may make us feel more stressed, and social isolation from our colleagues, friends, and family often contribute to loneliness and anxiety. We can’t underestimate the link between physical and mental health. So, when you are stressed, you should continue your daily activities like cooking, reading, getting outdoors or trying relaxation techniques to distract the mind. 4. Bring necessary changes in lifestyle going forward.Although one year has passed, many of us haven’t really adapted our lifestyle to the new normal situation. That’s why physios want us to start making necessary changes to eliminate our backache and neck pain.
5. Don’t run away from your pain.Even you’re suffering from severe back or neck pain due to WFH, don’t take it lightly or be afraid of it. Even if it’s excruciatingly painful, backache and neck pain get better within six weeks. Of course, you need to make the necessary changes, as discussed above. Along with that, you may consider looking for a professional physiotherapy clinic where physios can help you with regular exercises and activities to ease neck and back pains.
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