Santa does not just work at his desk! He is out exploring
the world, in and out of a sleigh, enlisting
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 surely creates stress and pain for him
like it does for the
rest of us who now realize the dream of working from
home. However, we can learn from his example. He doesn’t just lounge
at a desk. He gets help for heavy chores. He moves!
Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC encourages all of our La Grande
work-from-home friends to do the same as well as undergo
pain-decreasing chiropractic treatment
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. It was the dream of many…until the dream came true. There are some stunning
stats on how work-from-home has changed so many
of us. One study of 232 telecom employees recorded that
39% had more pain in the low back, 48% in the upper back/neck, and 27% in their
hands. Only 33% said they did not have any such
musculoskeletal pain problems. (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% sat in an ergonomic chair. 71% were bothered
by constant or occasional disturbances.
52% put in more work hours a day. Only 30% took recurrent
breaks. (1) Students underwent much the same as did workers when their learning and teaching was done
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 less pain
requires some preparation. Your La Grande chiropractor is
eager to help you prep.
WORKING FROM HOME: THE SET UP
Any new venture needs a plan. Starting
without the plan backfires for many. 89% of
new-to-working-at-home workers who participated in a survey described some musculoskeletal pain.
Upper back pain was said to be a result of
nonergonomic work environments with non-favorable computer
configurations while nonergonomic postures were associated with headache and low back pain. (3) A study of university
employees reported 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. 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! Regardless of the new
work-from-home trend that caused more sedentary
lifestyles, decreased physical activity, and more
musculoskeletal pain like back pain, researchers noted
that exercise and less sitting around successfully reduced
low back pain and even ‘cured’ it for participants in their study. (5)
Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC offers some simple, gentle exercises for our
La Grande chiropractic patients. Begin them after we go
through a thorough exam and you begin experiencing
relief with our gentle chiropractic spinal manipulation care.
CONTACT Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC
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.
Schedule your La Grande chiropractic
appointment now. Be like Santa: move, get help with
the heavy lifting, alter your workspace! Happy Holidays!