These Are Some Common Pains of Working in a Home Office. Which Do You Identify With?

November
18, 2020

4 min read

Enabling a space to work from home in these nine months of isolation has represented a major challenge for our health and that is that sitting for hours in a chair that is not so comfortable is not the best … Have you ever thought about changing it ? Have you had discomfort in the body?

Working from home involves spending more than eight hours in front of the computer, which has led to a considerable increase in cases involving the following conditions:

Sciatica. This pain occurs when a herniated disc or spinal spur press on the nerve causing discomfort from the lower back through the hips and down the back of one or both legs. This pain is so annoying that it causes limitation of movement.

Neck pain. This pain is one of the most common and if you have finished your workday by rubbing your neck, it is likely that you suffer from it. Although this discomfort is not always serious, it is annoying and is the result of overexertion of the neck muscles, especially if the table you work at is much higher than your chair.

Low back pain. This physical discomfort is manifested along the spine, especially in the lower back, and its pain can range from moderate to disabling. This appears especially when we remain hunched for more than eight hours, and by not maintaining a correct position, we can even generate pressure on the spinal nerves and muscle strain (stretching) that includes pain and inflammation.

Fluid retention. By limiting our mobility, not hydrating properly, and eating a high-salt diet, our body tends to retain fluids, causing swelling and pain.

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The remedy

Surely you have identified yourself with one of these conditions. Here are some more functional tips to reduce them.

Walk 10 minutes for every hour you spend sitting. This point is very important, since this way you will allow your circulation to flow better and that the body does not become stressed by staying in the same position for so long.

Pressotherapy. If you are retaining fluids, pressotherapy will help you eliminate toxins through urine. This treatment consists of introducing your feet into pneumatic boots that exert air pressure for a period of 15 minutes where four areas of the legs are worked: hip, thigh, calf and sole of the foot.

Stretch out. Before starting your workday, we recommend doing stretching exercises, this way you can wake up your muscles, especially if you go from your bed to your work area. There are videos on YouTube that will give you the necessary steps to stretch from your fingers to the torso and neck.

Adapt your work area. This step is elementary, since you will spend many hours of your day in this space. If necessary, make some adjustments to your chair and back, you can accommodate cushions that force you to straighten up and even raise the height of your seat to be much more comfortable when prostrating in front of the computer.

Localized cryotherapy. If you have detected that the pain persists and that it is increasingly annoying to work, one option is localized cryotherapy. In Cryomx, an innovative wellness concept, you can find it: it consists of the application of liquid nitrogen gas in a period of between six and eight minutes at -90 degrees. This therapy will help you reduce inflammation of the neck, back, arms, hands and hips, depending on the area of your choice.

Taking these tips into account and once you have detected your discomforts, it is time to get down to work and start changing our work habits from home. Don’t wait for the discomfort to become unbearable and chronic.