How to Prevent Back Pain While Working from Home?

How to Prevent Back Pain While Working from Home?

With the outbreak of coronavirus, remote working has become inevitable for companies to ensure business continuity while safeguarding the health of their employees at the same time. It not only allows individuals to work from a quieter environment but also boosts their overall work productivity. While the advantages to working from home are plenty, it involves being sedentary for prolonged periods, thereby causing neck, joint and back pain.

To overcome this, we have listed out some simple ways to help you prevent back pain while working from home.

Find the right chair

Your chair plays a huge role in your posture. Sitting too forward can cause you to arch your back whereas sitting too far behind can cause you to slouch; none of which are good postures. Choosing a chair that is comfortable and supports the back properly can significantly help in preventing or reducing back pain.

When you sit, ensure that your core is tight, and your lower back and hips are upright. Sitting with your knees or ankles crossed can also cause lower back pain.

Choose standing over sitting

Research shows that sitting for as long as 9 hours a day can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart diseases. One of the ways to avoid this is swapping your chair-and-desk setup with a standing desk. Using an adjustable desk is also a good option as it allows you to move your elbows and wrists when they need rest. Moreover, an adjustable desk can allow you to arrange your monitor such that you don’t have to constantly look up, down or sideways for long durations. However, special attention should also be paid to poor standing positions such as slouching and leaning.

Ensure your workspace is properly lit up

Find a spot at your home that is closer to natural light or has good indoor lighting. Poor lighting can end up straining your eyes and injuring your neck and back. It can also contribute to poor sitting posture.

Move around

Less movement in the body can cause pain in the joints and muscles. Adding simple stretches and exercises between your work hours can help with back, neck, hips and joint pain. Consider walking around your house to get the blood circulation going and do some motor control exercises like neck rotation and T-spine rotation to loosen up any stiff muscles.

Get timely back pain treatments

Getting a timely consultation for acute pain is important for identifying your pain points and treating them at the right time. Meanwhile, severe or chronic back pain can be a call for emergency in some cases. Symptoms for back pain include tingling, sharp aches or systematic pains, especially in the lower back area. At FCBS Dubai, our experts use non-invasive and holistic techniques to treat pain points and promote healing.

For more information on our back pain treatments and services, call us on +971 52 645 7085 or email us at info@fcbsglobal.com.