The aches and pains of home working

Home working or Living at the Office?

Given that pre pandemic we were already seeing 100's of patients with neck pain, headaches and shoulder / arm pain, all symptoms related to working with screens, we knew that the sudden shift to home working was going to cause a big increase in the number of people experiencing these problems. 

Unfortunately, our prediction has been proved to be accurate. We are seeing many more patients with symptoms that can be traced back to not only home "workstations" (aka dining tables, kitchen counters, sofas, sheds, floors etc) but also to how our working day has changed. 

No longer being in an office with colleagues, together with video conferencing, means that we are all moving much less than ever before. 

This intensifies the postural fatigue, soft tissue imbalances and joint strain which we already experience in our modern sedentary working world. 

There are many aspects to this problem that need to be addressed but the 3 most important are:

1. Education - helping you understand how your body works and what you need to do to live and work sustainably in this new world
2. Effective Treatment - detailed assessment of your problem followed by hands-on, exercise based rehab
3. Ergonomic intervention - making the necessary changes to ensure you have a tailored working environment that supports balanced posture and movement patterns. 

Based on what we have learnt from seeing 1000's of patients over the years, we are best positioned to address these challenges.

We believe that effective treatment is like a coin, that only has value if it has 2 sides and an edge. One side: Hands-on treatment, The other side: Exercise Based Rehab and holding these 2 sides together Empowerment through Education. 

Our unique OptiNeck™ Programme is proving invaluable in helping get patients back on track, and most importantly, helping them to help themselves. 

As far as point 3 goes, we aim to get a good understanding of what each individual working day involves and then give specific advice on workstation layout etc. However, what is often required is new home office equipment and for this we recommend Healthy Home Office. Not only does Phil Johns have a great range of products, he also has a very good understanding of ergonomics and how requirements vary from one situation to the next. 

If you are experiencing neck pain, shoulder pain, arm symptoms like pins & needles, numbness etc, headaches or upper back pain, we can help you. These symptoms are not normal and are your bodies cry for help.

It is time to take action...