Due to the pandemic, many of you have found yourselves suddenly working from home. Here in Rochester, NY, many have found that their home environment doesn’t prove to be as productive as when in the office – including everything down to the desk/work space. You may suddenly find yourself working off of a small laptop as opposed to working off of the multiple screens that you are used to. These changes in work setup, may seem small in the large scale change we are experiencing right now, can have a big impact on your spine and body. As we’ ve come to learn during this pandemic, we have to learn to adapt to our situation! Here, we will give some tips and tricks from Rochester chiropractors on how to work from home while saving your spine at the same time.
DON’T work on your bed or your couch – if you are on a laptop and are working in bed or on your couch, it is very easy to severely slouch. Having your laptop on your lap or on the bed will cause you to have to flex your entire spine and slouch from your neck and shoulders in order to work on the keyboard and see the screen.
DO work at an appropriate height – if you don’t have a home office or desk to work on, the dining room table will probably be your best platform. You want to find a comfortable height where your elbows are naturally flush with the table top which will help your shoulders relax and keep your wrists at a neutral alignment.
DO use an office chair if you have one that allows you to adjust your height and arm placement. If you don’t have an office chair at home, you can use your dining room chair with a cushion to sit on to help keep you sitting straight up. Try to sit at a level that allows your feet to be flat on the floor to lessen the pressure on your joints.
DO take frequent breaks - about every 20 minutes, by getting up and walking around to get some blood flowing. Remember to give your eyes and neck a break from staring at the screen.
DO stretches and exercises. There are specific stretches and exercises you can perform to help you stay loose and to help with your posture!
Here at Rush-Henrietta Family Chiropractic we are well versed in home care exercises. Contact us and we can send you an email with some exercises you can do at home! Call us at 585-321-3200 or visit our website so we can help you be your best in these uncertain times – we’re all in this together.
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