Chennai: At a time when we are all battling the coronavirus pandemic, there are several areas of the world which are placed under lockdowns and restriction on movements of people in public places.
Millions are staying home and many are working from home to help us fight the spreading pandemic. There could be multiple causes for a spinal pain but the most common cause is an over strain of the structures in the spine including spinal muscles, ligaments, facet joints and discs.
The spine is constantly loaded during our daily routine activities. The discs, facet joints, ligaments and muscles supporting the spine are prone to recurrent strain injury due to bad posture and prolonged sitting. Work-related back pain is a common reason for sick leave all over the world.
With a number of people working long hours in sitting posture on desks and in front of computers, there is a rise in the prevalence of significant back or neck pain, even among the youngsters in the prime of their health.
“Working from home, one may actually find themselves in a much worse posture than working in the office chair,” said Dr Phani Kiran, senior consultant spine surgeon, Gleneagles Global Health City.
Many professionals, who have opted to work from home due to the back pain, thinking that resting at home and avoiding travelling to the office, while continuing to work, can relieve their pain. Although you may feel better for a few days, the pain returns soon to trouble again, he added.
Most of them working from home, work either on a laptop sitting on a sofa or in the bed or sitting on the floor. While it may be okay to be in those positions for few minutes at a time, long hours in such postures can overstrain the spinal muscles and lead to upper or lower back pain and neck pain. Lying prone and working on the laptop is another common position.
The spinal muscles, discs and joints are overexerted to maintain the head and neck in extension for a long duration and can result in neck or upper back pain.
Being on smartphone’s or tablets for long durations involves looking downwards and holding the device in hand. It strains the neck and arm muscles continuously and can cause severe neck, upper back, arm and hand pain, feeling of fatigue, sometimes associated with tingling sensations or numbness.
Muscle matters
Here are some tips to avoid overstraining of your spinal muscles while working from home.
* Make a sitting arrangement on an ergonomic chair and a comfortable desk or table like in the office.
* If you want to work on the bed, sit upright leaning your back up against the wall or the headboard of the bed.
* Use pillows to support your lower back and under the knees.
* Avoid sliding down or sideward (which eventually happens if you don’t correct yourself frequently)
* Take a break and walk around every half an hour and stretch your muscles.
* Avoid slouching or hunching your back.
*. The head and shoulders should be in line with the back while working.
* Keeping a small table or pillow or another form of support under the laptop is essential to bring it upto the eye level.
* Make sure your arms are not lifted away from your body and wrists are well supported.