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For millions of Americans, working from home offers flexibility, a better work-life balance and freedom from the daily commute. It can also be, quite literally, a pain in the neck. And back. And shoulders.

That’s because having the freedom to work from anywhere means people often do work from anywhere, including places that aren’t conducive to good posture or ergonomics — kitchen tables, coffee shop counters or even the couch. Add to this the fact that remote work typically requires you to be sedentary for long stretches of the day, and you have the perfect recipe for neck and back pain.

Sentara chiropractors can offer many practical recommendations to minimize the risk of developing back and neck pain while enjoying the benefits of remote work.

Chiropractors: experts on back pain

When it comes to working from home, lower back pain and neck pain are the most common complaints Chiropractors focus on diagnosing and treating neuromusculoskeletal disorders, and issues involving the spine (i.e. neck and back pain) are their bread and butter.

“Treating back pain is the majority of what we do,” says Dr. Gregory Schierer, a chiropractor and team coordinator at Sentara Primary Care and Therapy Center - Oceanfront. “There are many different types of back pain, but in most cases, it’s due to repetitive stress. It can also be from underlying trauma that’s waiting there or exposed from prolonged sitting.”

For the work-from-home crowd, repetitive stress and prolonged sitting are the main culprits. First, let’s look at repetitive stress and how to avoid it when working remotely.

Repetitive stress and ergonomics

According to Schierer, two kinds of trauma can affect your spine: macro and micro.

• Macro-trauma involves major incidents that cause damage to the body, like a car accident or falling from a ladder.
• Micro-traumas, on the other hand, are mostly unnoticeable on their own but accumulate over time to create something more serious, like tension headaches, TMJ disorders or carpal tunnel syndrome.

“A beach is made from a million grains of sand,” says Dr. Anne Maurer, a chiropractor at Sentara Therapy Center - Healthy Way. “It’s not just one big event, but lots of little things that add up over time to create a condition.”

In the context of telework, micro-traumas are caused by repetitive stress from working in environments that aren’t designed with your body’s health in mind. Little things — a monitor that’s too high, or a keyboard that’s too low — can cause your body to move in a way that slowly injures it over time. For example, if you’re constantly turning your head to the left to look at your monitor, after a few weeks you might start to develop neck, back or shoulder pain.

Ergonomics is the science of designing and arranging workplaces to make them more comfortable and safer to use over time. Having a dedicated, ergonomically correct workspace in your home will not only help you avoid aches and pains, it will also help you to more readily separate your work life from your home life.

Here are some components you should consider:

• Monitor – Looking down at a laptop monitor will eventually cause pain in your neck and shoulders. Instead, use an external monitor placed about an arm-length away, directly in front of you. Your eyes should be level with the top one to two inches of the screen.
• Chair – Get a dedicated office chair with good lumbar support. This will help you avoid strain on your lower back when sitting for extended periods.
• Desk – Adjust your desk so that when working your elbows are bent at about 90 degrees, your wrists are flat at the keyboard and your feet are flat on the ground or a footrest. A desk that can accommodate sitting or standing is also a great idea.
• Keyboard and mouse – Use an external keyboard and a mouse to help you to keep your body in an ergonomically sound position while you work.

Move it or lose it!

The tips above will help you while you’re sitting and working, but that’s just one piece of the puzzle. In addition to minimizing repetitive stress, move your body throughout the day.

“When you move, your body stays happy. If you sit for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, eventually it leaves a mark,” says Dr. Schierer. “A great way of saying it is: ‘Sitting for your back is like sugar for your teeth. A little won’t hurt you, a lot will.’”

The definition of work has changed dramatically over the years, but our bodies have not. While sitting in a chair and typing on a laptop all day seems normal to us, our bodies evolved to handle very different tasks.

“Our bodies haven’t changed much since we were running away from tigers and throwing spears; they aren’t built for a 21st-century lifestyle,” says Dr. Maurer. “They were designed to walk, move, pick things up and put them down. Being able to prime those muscles and maintain that movement is very important.”

Regular exercise is, of course, important. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical exercise per week. But it’s also a good idea to incorporate regular movement into your workday. Here are some tips:

• Take regular breaks – Set a timer and get up from your chair regularly, at least every 45 minutes. Whether you take a walk around the block, do a five-minute yoga sequence or simply stand and stretch, moving your body regularly will help keep it happy.
• Stand – If you have a standing desk, a desk that can be used for both sitting and standing, alternate between the two. Set a timer on your phone and switch every 30 to 60 minutes.
• Build in movement – Find ways to make movement necessary. If you use a printer or scanner, keep it in another part of your house so you have to walk to it to use it, or keep your phone in another room so you have to get up to go check it.

Work-life balance is all about the balance

For work-from-homers, work-life balance is usually quoted at the top of the list of reasons why they prefer working remotely. Schierer and Maurer want to remind you that balance needs to extend to your body as well as your home life.

“Chiropractic is highly rooted in whole body function,” says Dr. Schierer.

He adds that chiropractic care uses the biopsychosocial (BPS) model, an approach that considers the biological, psychological and social factors that contribute to a patient's health.

Following the tips above can help you find that balance, reducing aches and pains while letting you avoid the daily commute. But, if you’re still experiencing back, neck or shoulder pain—whether it’s work-related or otherwise – Doctors Schierer and Maurer recommend visiting a chiropractor for an examination.

 

Take care of your back. Find a Sentara chiropractor near you.