Santa doesn’t just work at his desk! He’s out in
the world, in and out of a sleigh, arranging
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 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 sit
at a desk. He gets help for heavy chores. He moves!
Satterwhite Chiropractic urges all of our Oxford
work-from-home friends to do the same as well as undergo
pain-reducing chiropractic care
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 amazing
stats on how work-from-home has altered 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% said they did not have any such
musculoskeletal pain problems. (Women reported more issues than men.) 30% worked in a separate room
at home, 32% worked in a separate section of a room with
other members of the home, 38% worked in a non-separate area like
the dining room. 41% did not have 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 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 with the computer. (2) For the
work-from-home dream to come true with less pain
requires some preparation. Your Oxford chiropractor is
ready to help you prep.
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 replied
to a survey described some musculoskeletal pain.
Upper back pain was described as being a result of
nonergonomic work environments with non-favorable computer
configurations while nonergonomic postures were related
to 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 common. 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 resulted in more sedentary
lifestyles, reduced physical activity, and greater
musculoskeletal pain like back pain, researchers remarked
that exercise and less sitting around successfully decreased
low back pain and even ‘cured’ it for participants in their study. (5)
Satterwhite Chiropractic presents some simple, gentle exercises for our
Oxford chiropractic patients. Begin them after we do a thorough exam and you begin noticing
relief with our gentle chiropractic spinal manipulation care.
CONTACT Satterwhite Chiropractic
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 Oxford chiropractic
appointment soon. Be like Santa: move, delegate
the heavy lifting, modify your workspace! Happy Holidays!