Preventing Back Pain During Lockdown
In light of the nation-wide lockdown and worldwide COVID-19 epidemic, most South Africans are now spending more time than ever sitting in chairs. In addition, being at home all day is causing a reduction in daily movement and hence we are seeing a huge spike in the incidence of lower back and neck pain.
So what do you do when your local Chiro’s office is closed due to lockdown and you can’t get your usual manual therapy?
Most of us know that sitting on a couch with a laptop propped on our legs isn't the best choice from an ergonomic standpoint and that setting up an ergonomic workspace is of utmost importance for keeping the body pain-free.
But how do we achieve this?
It is commonly thought that simply changing your office chair or changing the way you sit in your chair will help to mitigate pain from sitting. However, this is not the case. Work-related/ ergonomic injuries are in fact caused when our bodies are under too much physical strain. The strain is caused by picking up a heavy object, moving into painful positions repetitively or being in a painful/ slouching position for an extended period of time.
Whilst good posture does help to prevent pain to some extent (sitting with rounded shoulders all day won’t keep you out of your Chiro’s office), holding a perfectly upright posture for a whole day will still cause pain and stiffness as staying in one position all day still causes physical strain. Instead of focusing on the notion of achieving an ideal posture (which doesn’t actually exist), it’s important to rather focus on reducing the amount of physical strain on the body through the course of your working day.
Dr Lazar’s Top Tips For Preventing back pain when working from home:
1. Move often: Sitting in one position all day is sure to cause physical strain on your lower back and neck. If you are at your desk all day try and break it up with tasks that force you out of your chair. For example, stand to take phone calls and stand during Skype/Zoom meetings if possible. Make a goal to stand up from your desk every 45-60 minutes and to incorporate a bit of mobility. The standing stretch is a great mobility exercise: raise your arms overhead and hold for ten seconds. Then reach higher and farther back for another ten-count. Inhale deeply, working into an upright and stress-free standing posture. Drop your arms and relax.
2. Change position regularly: Prof Stuart Mcgill (A leading expert in spinal biomechanics) suggests switching between different chairs and sitting surfaces during the course of the day. Some individuals will find comfort in sitting on a gym ball for 20 minutes and then moving back to an office chair. This can also be done by adjusting the settings within your office chair itself. Play with the backrest angle and the height. The goal is to not spend all of your time in one position so that you can distribute stress to different areas of the body.
3. Set-up your desk ergonomically: Make sure your monitor height is at gaze level so that your head is not overly flexed or extended. You can use a pile of books or an old shoebox to prop up the height of the screen. Your palms should rest on the keyboard without too much bend in the wrists. Adjust the text size or wear glasses if your vision is a problem so that your head doesn't need to poke forward to see the screen. Keep your spine in a neutral position whilst sitting. This can be done by rolling up a towel and placing it in the 90-degree bend of the chair or via an affordable lumbar support pillow. Make sure to take all keys and wallets out of your back pocket. Sitting on a wallet is like sitting on a wedge. It off balances your pelvis and causes compression of the hip joint as well as the Glutes and the Piriformis muscles. This can cause a "pseudo-sciatica."
4. Incorporate a daily movement practice: Many of us are limited in terms of the type of movement we have access to during lockdown. With gyms, trails and sea activities being out of bounds at the moment, it has become increasingly difficult for people to stay active. However, a daily movement practice is important now more than ever. Not only does this type of practice help to prevent pain, it also helps to improve mental wellbeing. A daily movement practice helps to prevent pain and injuries by creating lubrication in your joints, promoting blood circulation to areas which may be lacking as a result of sitting, loading your tendons and ligaments to make them stronger and priming your nervous system to make it more tolerant to pain.
Click below to see exercises recommended by Dr Hilton to incorporate into your daily movement practice.
For more individualised information on how to set-up your home office space or home exercise routines to prevent and reduce pain, click the button below to learn more about our Telehealth offerings.
Introduction to the movements
The Deadbug
The Birddog
Isometric Bear
Cat/Camel
The Getup
Breathing