Working from Home can cause neck and low back issues...
With the current situation with Covid-19 people have been working from home more and more.
Usually these people work from a laptop, tablet or their phones which creates unwanted postures in the neck and lower back which sustained for long period of times can translate into pain in these areas, sometimes severe.
In this Blog you will learn how to properly set up your Home Office Desk and what things you can do to prevent or improve neck or low back pain.
Home Office Desk - Set up
CORRECT SITTING POSTURE
Having healthy posture habits prevent common neck, shoulder and back problems and also improve your mood and energy throughout the day.
Here are some quick tips to help make sitting in front of a computer more comfortable
1️⃣ Keep your monitor at eye level, and place your keyboard close to your body.
2️⃣ Sit in a chair with back support to avoid slumping
3️⃣ Make sure your feet are firmly planted on the ground, or use a footstool if your feet don’t reach the ground
4️⃣ If possible, use a desk that can be converted to a standing desk to lessen the strain on your spine
Here are some quick tips to help make talking on the phone comfortable:
1️⃣Avoid tilting your head or holding a phone between your ear and shoulder
2️⃣Use a headset or headphones when possible to keep your head in a neutral position.
3️⃣Use a speakerphone when able to avoid tilting your neck
Here are some quick tips to improve your posture while texting:
1️⃣ Try to keep your phone screen at eye level to avoid bending your neck
2️⃣ Keep your neck relaxed and avoid shrugging your shoulders
3️⃣ Use your index finger to prevent overuse of your thumb
Home Office - Healthy Habits
Having healthy posture habits prevent common neck, shoulder and back problems and also improve your mood and energy throughout the day.
Here are some quick tips to help make sitting in front of a computer more comfortable:
Keep your muscles loose by taking standing or walking breaks every 30-45 minutes
When possible, give your eyes a rest by looking away from your computer every 20 minutes and focusing on a distant object
Home-Office Syndrome
If you did not pay attention at the recommendations we enumerated above, you'll develop pain in your neck or low back which can be severe at times. This is called Home-Office Syndrome: pain in these areas ( lateral elbow, wrist, Carpal Tunnel as well ) created by prolonged unwanted posture.
Definition
Home-Office Syndrome is pain and soreness in the spine or muscles caused by sitting or remaining in the same position for long periods of time, mainly while working on the computer in an office setting.
This pain and soreness, which might seem ordinary at first, can result in chronic pain, intervertebral disc disease and abnormalities in the spine. Your posture and your ability to function or move normally can be affected.
What are the symptoms?
Many symptoms of Office Syndrome do not seem drastic at first, but when left untreated can become serious. Some patients are not able to lift or turn their heads.
The most common and early symptoms of Office Syndrome include the following
🤯 Headache
👁 Soreness around the eyes
🗣 Neck ache
😖 Dizziness
👉🏼 Chronic muscle pain
🦶🏻 Numbness in wrists or feet
👉🏼 Backache
👉🏼 Aching and tightness in shoulders
How to combat Home-office Syndrome?
Change your sitting or working position every twenty or thirty minutes
Stretch the muscles in your arms, hands, wrists and legs every hour.
Get up and walk around. There are also basic exercise routines you can do to help loosen your muscles and create some movement.
Make sure your wrists are in a straight position; do not bend or twist them too often
Give your eyes a rest from the computer every ten minutes
Sit with a straight posture.Do not sit on the edge of your seat
Set your computer and keyboard facing you.The screen should be a little over your eyeline
There should be a lot of space for you to use the mouse and move your arms
The computer should be an arms-length away from you
Videos
1. How to turn your regular chair and table into a more comfortable and ergonomic set up without investing in any office furniture
If you are having neck pain or Low back pain while sitting at home working try to modify these postures by elevating the screen to your eye level.
Another option is to bring the laptop all the way to allow you work in standing .
Try these changes throughout the day and stay away from being in the same position for too long.
2. Neck Pain Exercises for Home-Office Syndrome
Chin Tucks
Gently nod you hear to straighten your neck .
Thoracic Extension
Our mid back rounds excessively while working on the computer
This is a great exercise to go in the opposite direction of this bad position .
Pectoralis Muscle Stretch
This rounded posture we adopt while working at home makes the chest muscles to retract and stiffen “ locking “ this bad posture of forward head and round shoulders.
An excellent way to fight this posture is by stretching and moving the front of your chest with these Pec Stretch exercises
3. Lower Back Exercises for Home-Office Syndrome
Hip Flexor stretch
Stand up with one foot on the computer chair and stretch your tight hip muscles
Thoracic Extension
Our mid back rounds excessively while working on the computer
This is a great exercise to go in the opposite direction of this bad position
Cat - Camel Mobility workout
This rounded posture we adopt while working at home makes the back muscles to retract and stiffen “ locking “ this bad posture .
An excellent way to fight this posture is by stretching and moving the Lumbar spine and thoracic spine with this exercise
Conclusion
You cannot spend too many hours in a "bad posture" because after a few week of doing this you will develop neck mid or low back pain from staying in this bad posture for too long. Ever more, if you do not take care of this condition, it can progress to a more severe pain with tingling, numbness in your legs or hands.
Set up your desk properly like we showed you here
Move, Move and Move : interrupt your working activities frequently and do active breaks, moving your body in the opposite direction of the posture you sustain at your desk station. There are some very good exercises in these post that you should do.
Lionel Pannunzio is a Physical Therapist Certified in Sports Injuries. With more than 20 years of experience helping athletes return to their sports after an injury. He is the Owner of White Bay Sports Physical Therapy and Fitness, conveniently located in the beautiful City of Weston, where he treats Soccer Player, Runners and Athletes of all ages
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Lionel Pannunzio
Physical Therapist
Board-Certified Sports Specialist
Owner of White Bay Physical Therapy
“Keeping Athletes in the game”