Santa doesn’t 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 part
of the hard, back-wrecking 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 recently realized 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 challenging chores. He moves!
Dr. Le's Chiropractic & Wellness, L.L.C. encourages all of our Auburn
work-from-home friends to do the same as well as undergo
relieving 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 amazing
statistics 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 reported more issues than men.) 30% worked in a separate room
at home, 32% worked in a dedicated area of a room with
other people of the home, 38% worked in a non-separate area like
the dining room. 41% didn’t have an office
chair; 32% sat in an ergonomic chair. 71% were distracted
by constant or random disturbances.
52% worked longer hours. Only 30% took frequent
breaks. (1) Students experienced 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 Auburn chiropractor is
eager to help you prep.
WORKING FROM HOME: THE SET UP
Any new venture necessitates a plan. Starting
without the plan backfires for many. 89% of
new-to-working-at-home workers who responded
to a survey described some musculoskeletal pain.
Upper back pain was described as being a result of
nonergonomic work environments with suboptimal computer
configurations while nonergonomic postures were linked 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 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! Regardless of the new
work-from-home trend that prompted more sedentary
lifestyles, reduced physical activity, and more
musculoskeletal pain like back pain, researchers noted
that exercise and less sitting around successfully cut
low back pain and even ‘cured’ it for participants in their study. (5)
Dr. Le's Chiropractic & Wellness, L.L.C. offers some simple, gentle exercises for our
Auburn chiropractic patients. Start them after we go
through a thorough exam and you begin experiencing
relief with our gentle chiropractic spinal manipulation care.
CONTACT Dr. Le's Chiropractic & Wellness, L.L.C.
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 Auburn chiropractic
appointment now. Be like Santa: move, get help with
the heavy lifting, adapt your workspace! Happy Holidays!