Contributed by: Abshar Faheem
Impact of work from home on your body posture
Even before the covid-19 pandemic, many people used to work partially or wholly from home. The unexpected onset of a pandemic has increased the number of people working from home significantly and transformed the way people used to work. Working from home has become an ordinary part of life. Though, several people do not have a proper home set-up and do their work while sitting on the bed, regular table, kitchen table, lounge chair, or and couches. It looks relaxed working from the couch but it has a significant effect on your neck, back, and knee and your overall spinal health.
If you are also working from home, you may be observing aches or pain that you do not experience in your office. Many offices serve an ANSI-HFS standard in the design of their workstations that supplies the office with accessories and ergonomic furniture. Generally, household settings don’t have the space to serve today’s ergonomic office furniture, even most people do not invest in it, and especially if they do most of their work in the office. Whatever you are using at your home for work, you are most likely to have a bad posture.
If you are doing work from home only for short periods you may not need to bother but if your weeks at working from home are turning into months, you should be aware of its effect on your body posture. And despite the pandemic has passed, work from home is expected to continue as it has become the standard for millions of workers because companies have learned that some jobs don’t need in-office hours.
If you are already experiencing physical pain or strain, the sad message is that you might be on the path to a possible weakening musculoskeletal injury including a bad back, sore neck, and shoulders, carpal tunnel syndrome, and deep vein thrombosis (a state in which blood clots develop in the veins).
3 simple stretches for a healthy posture
In this article, we will explore simple stretches and strategies that can help you to reduce your back pain while working from home.
- Knee to chest: The knee to the chest is an easy stretch for back pain helping you to reduce the strain. You can perform it while holding each leg for 5 seconds. You can also try holding your both legs for at least 5 seconds.
- Spinal twist: The second exercise for back pain is a spinal twist or a seated spinal twist. In this exercise, you can move your lower body to the left side and hold your upper body straight on the floor. Likewise, you can move and repeat this to the other side.
- Third stretch: In this exercise, you have to put your left foot on the right knee and keep this pose for 5 seconds with each leg. Similarly, you can repeat this to the other side.
You can follow these simple stretches at your home without using any expensive equipment. You can try these 3 simple stretches any time of the day, however, performing them in the morning and evening can provide you better results.
Top 10 Strategies reduce the risk of back pain
Other strategies you can follow while working from home include:
- Look at your screen and any paper document with a straight neck
- Place your keyboard, laptop, mouse, or touchpad at a convenient height in front of you
- Avoid using a soft and squishy wrist rest
- Use voice input alternatively with typing and mouse
- Sit back in your chair and avoid sitting upright
- While working, put your feet on the floor or the foot support
- Limit the time you work sitting on your bed
- If your bed is the only option you have, put the pillow behind your back and put your laptop on a cushion in your lap or over a low table
- Avoid prolonged standing for computer work
- Breathe mindfully
The bottom line
There are numerous benefits of working from home including a lack of commute, spending time with family, eating snacks on the couch while working, and so on. Apart from these benefits, prolonged working while sitting at your home can also develop back pain. Work from home has become the norm and you have to manage anyhow. So these simple three stretches and other few strategies may help you to reduce the risk of back pain. We have discussed in detail the stretches and strategies you can try at your home. We hope you find this article useful for yourself.
