Working from home has become the new normal for many people across the globe. Many are looking for ways to turn their living rooms into makeshift offices and their kitchen tables into desks. There are many benefits to working from home, though it can take a toll on your body. Incidents of back and neck pain are increasing as people adjust to using sofas and kitchen chairs as office furniture as opposed to the more helpful ergonomics of furniture designed for workspaces. If you’ve started noticing more back pain then you might find yourself searching for “the best chiropractor near me” in hopes of lasting relief. Chiropractic care can help people who have work injuries from working from home with natural and non-invasive approaches to back pain.
Poor Posture Is the Culprit
In many cases, poor posture is contributing to the rise of people who are working from home and experiencing back pain. Sitting for long periods of time can actually put significant stress on the body, even though it seems like such a natural thing to do. This is especially true for those who are sitting in makeshift workspaces without the right support for your posture. When working from the sofa or your bed, we tend to hunch over our laptops or devices, leading to an unnatural curve in the spine. Additionally, commuting to a workspace typically involves more need for standing up and walking around throughout your day, which you might do less of when you are working from home. Sitting in a hunched position for long periods of time will put excessive stress and pressure on your spine, eventually causing back pain.
How to Prevent Back Pain at Home
There are steps you can take when working from home to ensure you are taking care of your health as best as possible. Here are some tips and tricks to preventing back pain while working from home:
- Remember to get up and move around! While your coworkers may now be a click away instead of a flight of stairs, you still want to incorporate some movement into your day. Try to stand up and move around every hour if possible. Even if you live in a small space, you can try taking a few laps around your home or even try some light stretches to help get your blood flowing.
- Set up your screens at eye level! This may be a temporary, makeshift work from home office setup, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t work as best as possible for you right now. You might even consider a separate monitor, wireless keyboard, and wireless mouse to help support this setup. Raising the height of your screens will help prevent you from bending your neck and leaning forward, which ends up putting pressure on your neck and back.
- Firmly plant your feet on the floor! If your setup involves your sofa then you might be tempted to curl up like you would when watching tv or reading a book. However, you should aim to sit up with your feet on the floor with your knees bent at a right angle. If you can’t achieve this type of posture from your current furniture then you could try a kitchen chair or using pillows to support you while sitting on the floor.
How Chiropractic Care Can Help
While these steps can help support better posture, they may not be enough to overcome your back pain altogether. A chiropractor will help restore your spine to its proper alignment and correct your posture with therapeutic adjustments. Chiropractic adjustments help the spine by identifying any misalignments that might be contributing to your pain. Additionally, your chiropractor can also make further recommendations on how to sit properly or what stretches and exercises may work best for you. The goals of chiropractic care for back pain will include eliminating misalignments, supporting proper posture, and encouraging stronger, healthier habits going forward.
You will likely find a wide range of results when searching for “a chiropractor near me” online, which can make the decision seem overwhelming. At AICA Orthopedics in Marietta, our chiropractors are not only experts in their field, but they also work with a team of doctors in various specialties so you can get the most comprehensive care available. Our chiropractors in Marietta understand the challenging demands of adjusting to a work-from-home lifestyle and are here to help!