3 Steps To Prevent Back or Neck Pain When Working From Home

Chances are you are or will be working from home during this COVID-19 pandemic. While this may be a wise decision to help prevent the spread of this flu, it can lead to an increase of neck pain when working from home. While your work is probably the same, your work setup or workstation is not.

Typically, when working from home, we tend to pick our most comfortable place to sit, i.e.; couch or bed. This may have been a comfy spot for short term work, but long term, this can lead to neck/back pain. The problem with these home workstations is that they are not a good ergonomic set up and can place excessive stress on the spinal joints, muscles, ligaments and maybe even the nerves.

3 steps to prevent back neck pain when working from home

First, make sure you have a straight-backed chair. Working on the couch or bed will cause you to sit in a slumped or slouched position. Sitting like this will cause you to reverse the normal backwards C curve of your neck and low back as well as straining the muscles. A straight back chair is more likely to make you sit upright, helping to maintain the normal curve of your neck and low back.

Second, place your laptop level with your eyes. Use a box or stack of books to make sure your screen is straight ahead of you. This will help you keep the normal curve of your neck. There are many reasonably priced keyboard you can purchase to attached to your laptop.

Third, make sure your feet are flat on the floor. It can be tempting to sit with a knee bent and your foot tucked under your other thigh. This position can cause you to sit in an unbalance position, putting more pressure on one side of your pelvis or hips. Also, do not let your feet hang, it will increase the curve of your low back and add increased stress on the small joints of your spine.

These are three steps you can do to help prevent neck or back pain while working from home. You can also try some of these exercises to do while seated.

Should you already experience neck or back pain, or unfortunately develop pain, call our officer at (314) 731-4383 to schedule an appointment. We have years of experience treating neck and back pain, as well as whiplash, headaches, carpal tunnel, plantar fasciitis and much more. CLICK TO CALL AND MAKE AN APPOINTMENT

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