Santa does not just work at his desk! He’s out in
the world, in and out of his sleigh, getting
the help of others (elves and reindeer!) to do some
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 does not just lounge
at a desk. He gets help for challenging chores. He moves!
OrthoIllinois Chiropractic encourages all of our McHenry
work-from-home friends to do the same as well as arrange
pain-reducing chiropractic care
for the back pain, neck pain, shoulder, and other pain(s) you may now experience.
THE DREAM: WORK FROM HOME, LEARN AT HOME
Working from home: the dream of many…until the dream came true. There are some stunning
statistics on how work-from-home has altered so many
of us. One study of 232 telecom employees documented 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 reported 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% didn’t have an office
chair; 32% used an ergonomic chair. 71% were distracted
by constant or occasional disruptions.
52% put in more work hours a day. Only 30% took frequent
breaks. (1) Students underwent much the same as the workers
did 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 less pain
demands some preparation. Your McHenry chiropractor is
eager to help you prepare.
WORKING FROM HOME: THE SET UP
Any new venture needs a plan. Starting
without the plan goes wrong for many. 89% of
new-to-working-at-home workers who participated in a survey stated 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 related
to headache and low back pain. (3) A study 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 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! Despite 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)
OrthoIllinois Chiropractic presents some simple, gentle exercises for our
McHenry chiropractic patients. Start them after we do a thorough exam and you begin noticing
relief with our gentle chiropractic spinal manipulation care.
CONTACT OrthoIllinois Chiropractic
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.
Make your McHenry chiropractic
appointment now. Be like Santa: move, get help with
the heavy lifting, modify your workspace! Happy Holidays!