Santa doesn’t just work at his desk! He is out exploring
the world, in and out of his sleigh, enlisting
the help of others (elves and reindeer!) to do part
of the hard, back-breaking 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 now realize the dream of working from
home. However, we can learn from his example. He doesn’t just sit
at a desk. He gets help for heavy chores. He moves!
Minster Chiropractic Center encourages all of our Minster
work-from-home friends to do the same as well as get
relieving 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: 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 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 members of the home, 38% worked in a non-separate area like
the dining room. 41% did not use an office
chair; 32% had an ergonomic chair. 71% were troubled
by constant or random disruptions.
52% worked longer hours. Only 30% took frequent
breaks. (1) Students underwent much the same as did workers 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 as little pain as possible
demands some preparation. Your Minster chiropractor is
eager to help you prep.
WORKING FROM HOME: THE SET UP
Any new venture needs 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 found that 61% of them experienced
more musculoskeletal pain working from home with neck, shoulder and low back
pain being the most common. 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 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)
Minster Chiropractic Center offers some simple, gentle exercises for our
Minster chiropractic patients. Begin them after we perform a thorough exam and you begin experiencing
relief with our gentle chiropractic spinal manipulation care.
CONTACT Minster Chiropractic Center
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 Minster chiropractic
appointment now. Be like Santa: move, get help with
the heavy lifting, adapt your workspace! Happy Holidays!