Santa doesn’t just hang
out at his desk for work! He’s out exploring
the world, in and out of his sleigh, arranging
the assistance of others (elves and reindeer!) to do part
of the hard, back-wrecking work. However, he also works from his
home/workshop which certainly creates stress and pain for him
like it does for the
rest of us who recently realized the dream of working from
home. However, we can learn from his example. He does not just lounge
at a desk. He gets help for challenging chores. He moves!
Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries urges all of our Manchester
work-from-home friends to do the same as well as arrange
pain-decreasing chiropractic treatment
for the back pain, neck pain, shoulder, and other pain(s) you may now have.
THE DREAM: WORK FROM HOME, LEARN AT HOME
Working from home. It was the dream job for many
of us…until the dream came true. There are some stunning
stats on how work-from-home has changed so many
of us. One study of 232 telecom employees recorded that
39% had more pain in the low back, 48% in the upper back/neck, and 27% in their
hands. Only 33% reported not having any such
musculoskeletal pain problems. (Women related that they had more issues than men.) 30% worked in a separate room
at home, 32% worked in a dedicated area of a room with
other people of the home, 38% worked in a non-separate area like
the dining room. 41% did not have an office
chair; 32% used an ergonomic chair. 71% were bothered
by constant or occasional disturbances.
52% put in more work hours a day. Only 30% took frequent
breaks. (1) Students experienced much the same as the workers
did when their learning and teaching was performed
at home: low back pain for 73%, neck pain for 69%, shoulder pain for 59%. Influencing
factors for students were pain, academic stresses, personal/emotional issues,
work environment, and time with the computer. (2) For the
work-from-home dream to come true with less pain
demands some preparation. Your Manchester chiropractor is
ready to help you prepare.
WORKING FROM HOME: THE SET UP
Any new venture necessitates a plan. Beginning
without the plan goes wrong for most. 89% of
new-to-working-at-home workers who responded
to a survey reported some musculoskeletal pain.
Upper back pain was described as being a result of
nonergonomic work environments with suboptimal computer
configurations while nonergonomic postures were associated with headache and low back pain. (3) A study of university
employees found that 61% of them had
more musculoskeletal pain working from home with neck, shoulder and low back
pain being the most frequent. Women reported
significantly more pain than men. Seat height and monitor distance were significant risk factors
for discomfort and pain in work-from-home employees. (4)
HOPE FOR NEW WORK-FROM-HOME PAIN
There is hope! Despite the new
work-from-home trend that caused more sedentary
lifestyles, reduced physical activity, and greater
musculoskeletal pain like back pain, researchers noted
that exercise and less sitting around successfully decreased
low back pain and even ‘cured’ it for participants in their study. (5)
Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries presents some simple, gentle exercises for our
Manchester chiropractic patients. Begin them after we do a thorough exam and you begin noticing
relief with our gentle chiropractic spinal manipulation care.
CONTACT Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. John Murray on The
Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he shares
relieving chiropractic care for back and neck pain patients with The Cox®
Technic System of Spinal Pain Management on The Cox®8 Table.
Schedule your Manchester chiropractic
appointment now. Be like Santa: move, delegate
the heavy lifting, modify your workspace! Happy Holidays!