October 26, 2021
As Physio’s we can probably all agree that the most common complaint we receive is neck and back pain. During the lockdown period we still managed to see the incidence of these two issues rise across the clinic.
Many of our office workers that come in to see us at Beachside are confused as to why they are experiencing an increase in these problems
“It must be my poor working from home set up”
Many patients attribute the issue to a poor ergonomic work set up compared to the office leading to poor posture. However, this may not solely be the case. Having a perfect work set up or having “Perfect posture” is almost impossible to achieve 100% of the time.
The more likely cause of the increase incidence would be a reduction in physical activity.
You may be thinking …. but I was still working out during lockdown, which may be the case, however, there has been a definite reduction in incidental exercise i.e. Walking to the bus or train station, or for us here at Beachside = walking to our favourite cafes.
These incidental bouts of movements accumulate over the day, and without them we are found to be sitting in the same static postures for longer periods of time, being one of the biggest risk factors for increasing neck and back pain
Tips to avoid prolonged sitting:
- SET AN ALARM- set yourself an alarm as a reminder to STAND and move around.
- KEEP OUR WATER BOTTLE OUT OF ARMS REACH- forcing you to stand up and move but also stay hydrated throughout the day
- ALTERNATE BETWEEN SITTING AND STANDING- being in one static posture whether sitting or standing is not ideal, therefore every 45mins- 1 hour it is recommended to change working posture from sitting to standing or vice versa.
- STAND WHILE TALKING ON THE PHONE.
As always if you have any questions please reach out,
Tare care,
The team @beachside
