Is Working at Home a Pain in the Neck?
Sore neck working from home? You certainly aren’t alone!
Working from home certainly has its challenges. A large portion of our patient load at NextGen Physio has always been managing patients neck pain, particularly associated with prolonged periods of sitting at work behind a desk.
More recently, though, we have seen this become even more of a challenge for our patients with this weird and whacky year and the increased volume of patients that have been working from home.
Of course, there are ways to help minimise the damage (and pain), so here are two super easy tips you can implement to manage your neck pain while working from home.
1. Follow the 20-minute rule. This one seems simple, right? Setting the alarm on your phone to get up and move every 20 minutes can be a life saver. You could even put a visual cue such as a sticky note somewhere on your computer screen to help remind you.
While in an office environment (compared to working from home), there seems to be more general movement (going to the printer, liaising with other staff members etc.) so being strict and setting that rule for yourself gives your body a reset and really helps reduce the tension in your neck. You don’t need to do anything fancy, simply changing your position is a great start!
2. Perform band pull-aparts. This is an excellent exercise that can be done anywhere at home and can even be incorporated as part of your 20-minute rule. This will help wake up some of those dormant postural muscles in between your shoulder blades and help tone down what is happening in your neck. If you don’t have a band, it works well without one, just make sure you squeeze your shoulder blades together!
Hopefully, these tips can help decrease the tension you are feeling and reduce your pain and discomfort, but if you can’t seem to shake the pain-in-the-neck then drop by our clinic and let us take a look. NextGen Physiotherapy offers a free, 15-minute assessment and treatment plan for new customers – but don’t forget to phone us first on 4965 5712.
For more information about injury prevention and exercise tips you can do at home – check out our website at www.nextgenphysio.com.au/blog
Born and raised in Tamworth, multiple knee injuries as a sport-loving country kid led Tom down the path of Physiotherapy. Soon after graduating, Tom started NextGen Physio and along with his amazing team of therapists, loves the excitement and challenge of helping athletes, weekend warriors and everyone in-between be pain and injury-free!
