Santa does not just work at his desk! He is out exploring
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 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 heavy chores. He moves!
Manahawkin Chiropractic Center urges all of our Manahawkin
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 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
stats on how work-from-home has changed 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 issues. (Women related that they had more issues than men.) 30% worked in a separate room
at home, 32% worked in a separate section 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% used an ergonomic chair. 71% were distracted
by constant or intermittent disturbances.
52% put in more work hours a day. Only 30% took recurrent
breaks. (1) Students experienced much the same as the workers
did when their learning and teaching was undertaken
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 Manahawkin chiropractor is
eager to help you prep.
WORKING FROM HOME: THE SET UP
Any new venture necessitates a plan. Beginning
without the plan backfires 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 suboptimal computer
configurations while nonergonomic postures were associated with headache and low back pain. (3) A survey of university
employees documented that 61% of them had
more musculoskeletal pain working from home with neck, shoulder and low back
pain being the most often experienced. 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 prompted more sedentary
lifestyles, decreased 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)
Manahawkin Chiropractic Center presents some simple, gentle exercises for our
Manahawkin chiropractic patients. Start them after we do a thorough exam and you start noticing
relief with our gentle chiropractic spinal manipulation care.
CONTACT Manahawkin Chiropractic Center
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 Manahawkin chiropractic
appointment now. Be like Santa: move, delegate
the heavy lifting, alter your workspace! Happy Holidays!