Santa does not just work at his desk! He’s out in
the world, in and out of a sleigh, enlisting
the help of others (elves and reindeer!) to do some
of the hard, back-wrecking work. However, he also works from his
home/workshop which surely brings him similar stresses and pain like it does for the
rest of us who now realize 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 heavy chores. He moves!
Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic urges all of our Montreal
work-from-home friends to do the same as well as undergo
alleviating 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 altered so many
of us. One study of 232 telecom employees found 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 issues. (Women said
that they experienced 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 use an office
chair; 32% sat in an ergonomic chair. 71% were troubled
by constant or occasional disruptions.
52% put in more work hours a day. Only 30% took recurrent
breaks. (1) Students experienced much the same as did workers when their learning and teaching was done
at home: low back pain for 73%, neck pain for 69%, shoulder pain for 59%. Contributing
factors for students were pain, academic stresses, personal/emotional issues,
work environment, and time in front of the computer. (2) For the
work-from-home dream to come true with as little pain as possible
requires some preparation. Your Montreal chiropractor is
eager to help you prep.
WORKING FROM HOME: THE SET UP
Any new venture necessitates a plan. Starting
without the plan backfires for many. 89% of
new-to-working-at-home workers who participated in a survey reported some musculoskeletal pain.
Upper back pain was said to be a result of
nonergonomic work environments with non-favorable computer
configurations while nonergonomic postures were associated with headache and low back pain. (3) A survey of university
employees documented that 61% of them experienced
more musculoskeletal pain working from home with neck, shoulder and low back
pain being the most frequent. Women stated
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! Regardless of the new
work-from-home trend that resulted in more sedentary
lifestyles, decreased physical activity, and greater
musculoskeletal pain like back pain, researchers remarked
that exercise and less sitting around successfully reduced
low back pain and even ‘cured’ it for participants in their study. (5)
Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic offers some simple, gentle exercises for our
Montreal chiropractic patients. Start them after we perform a thorough exam and you begin noticing
relief with our gentle chiropractic spinal manipulation care.
CONTACT Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. John Murray on The
Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes
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 Montreal chiropractic
appointment today. Be like Santa: move, get help with
the heavy lifting, modify your workspace! Happy Holidays!