One day you’re at your comfortable company desk, the next day you’re working from home indefinitely. While we need to embrace the change, there is no need to embrace the body pain that comes with it.
Your body might be telling you that the same desk habits that suited you at the office may not work at home—where you move much less and in need of more space. Whether you’re suffering from a sore neck, frozen shoulders, or back pain, it’s all very common and can be easily fixed. Don’t allow these pains be a hindrance for you to meet your deadlines and work productively at home.
Follow these home office hacks to ease body pain:
Sit to suit your body
There is no “one size fits all” when it comes to the “best way” to sit. But to be able to minimize discomfort, you must keep a nice, tall spine. Your forearms, thighs and feet should be parallel to the floor. Wrists should bend as little as possible. Feet either on the floor or on a footrest. Your chair should have a backrest and armrests, with an adjustable height.
Use household items to improve posture
If you don’t have ergonomic office equipment at home or can’t get hold of it at the moment, you can use household items to improve your ergonomics. Books or boxes are ideal to prop up your computer monitor or laptop. Use rolled-up towels under your wrists for support or small pillows behind your back or under your bottom for added comfort. You can use also use little stools or boxes to create your own footrest.
Mobilize your work
As adults, we tend to normalize sitting in only one position, but our bodies literally thrive on movement. We must move ideally every 20 minutes. To do this, you can set a timer on your phone or use your smartwatch for the built-in reminder to move and breathe deeply. Try taking your phone calls while walking around the house, or ideally, outdoors to top up on vitamin D and fresh air.
Stretch it out
As well as moving around regularly or every 20 minutes, stretching can help release any tension in your body and keep it supple. Try these:
Neck stretches: Place your hand underneath your leg or on your shoulder and use your opposite hand to gently pull your head toward your shoulder
Seated glute stretch: Cross your ankle over your opposite knee and lean forward at your hips (keeping your back straight) until you feel a stretch at the back of your hip.
Seated roll downs: Bring your chin toward your chest and slowly roll your spine down toward your feet, then slowly roll back up again.
Back release: Roll a towel lengthways along the spine, as you lay on the towel. Keep your knees bent with feet flat on the floor. Place your arms out to the sides, palms facing up and take some deep breaths.
Set boundaries and breaks
Aside from interspacing your work time with some gentle stretches, keep a glass of water next to you so that you regularly walk to the kitchen for a refill. As for capping longer work hours, boundaries must be set to prevent burnout and keep our bodies happy and ourselves buoyant. Whether you’ve got a home office or working in a spare room or a shared table, put your work away or cover it up at the end of the day to signal your body that it is time to stop working.
Remember to take your time to set up your workspace so that you are comfortable. Since you’re going to be spending a lot of time there, avoid jumping into the work without finalizing your home office set up wisely. Adapting your home space to fit what your body needs to feel comfortable is the first step. Next is ensuring that you have a stockpile of pain reliever at home—like Ibuprofen + Paracetamol (ALAXAN® FR). It has Fast Relief formula that works in as fast as 15 minutes and is doctor-prescribed as it relieves body pain fast. It is good to have this on-hand especially if you need to get rid of body pain fast. Have no time to re-apply topical solutions as you need to get back to work quickly? Ensure you always have Ibuprofen + Paracetamol (ALAXAN® FR) with you.
If symptoms persist, consult your doctor.
ASC Reference Code: U160P060921AS
Sources:
https://cutt.ly/Ruh66JC
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/apr/21/home-office-ergonomics-how-to-work-from-home-without-breaking-your-back
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/19/ways-to-make-your-work-from-home-space-ergonomic-better-for-your-back.html
