Santa does not just work at his desk! He is out in
the world, in and out of a sleigh, arranging
the help of others (elves and reindeer!) to do part
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 recently realized 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!
Cross Chiropractic Center urges all of our Sandy Springs
work-from-home friends to do the same as well as received
pain-reducing chiropractic treatment
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 job for many
of us…until the dream came true. There are some amazing
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 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 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 intermittent 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 Sandy Springs chiropractor is
eager 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 responded
to a survey reported 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 study 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 frequent. Women reported
significantly more pain than men. The height of the seat an the distance of
the monitor 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 more
musculoskeletal pain like back pain, researchers mentioned
that exercise and less sitting around successfully decreased
low back pain and even ‘cured’ it for participants in their study. (5)
Cross Chiropractic Center presents some simple, gentle exercises for our
Sandy Springs chiropractic patients. Begin them after we go
through a thorough exam and you start noticing
relief with our gentle chiropractic spinal manipulation care.
CONTACT Cross 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.
Make your Sandy Springs chiropractic
appointment soon. Be like Santa: move, get help with
the heavy lifting, alter your workspace! Happy Holidays!