Are You Working Your Way Into Pain? Ask Your Chiropractor
When you consider the number of hours we spend working, you would think most of us would take a good look at how we do it. But as screen time increases, we often become more casual about our posture and work spots.
The American Chiropractor’s Association says we need to learn and follow a few basic principles. Focusing on the task at hand and ignoring what we do to get the job done can put our bodies in a lot of repetitive, fixed positions that trigger ongoing pain.
ACA says there are three things to remember:
When lifting use the largest muscles. The larger the muscle the lower the stress on smaller more vulnerable muscles.
While working, use several different positions and avoid staying in one fixed position for any length of time. Muscles tire and injuries often come from fixed positions, especially poor ones like bending forward at the waist.
When working, keep joints in a neutral posture or halfway into a range of motion. Working with joints at extreme ranges of motion for long periods abnormally stresses them and can cause repetitive motion injuries.
How Your Chiropractor Can Help
When workplace injuries come up your chiropractor can help you get back on track and help you make your workplace really work for you.
There will be a spinal adjustment to evaluate overall spinal health, followed by a review of medical history and daily activities. The chiropractor’s goal will be to help ease pain and restore normal activities without medication or surgery. You may be experiencing back, neck or wrist and hand pain stemming from work positions and the chiropractor will be tracing the problem. Together the two of you can pinpoint problems and straighten them out.
You may need to learn new posture positions, or change the height of your desk to make sure you are sitting with your feet flat on the floor. You will also learn to avoid slouching or hunching as you work work and throughout the day as you use a variety of screens. The chiropractor may also advise using a headset instead of assorted phone positions to avoid headaches and neck pain. Taking regular breaks and looking away from the screen as you work will also help.
As your visits continue and you find yourself getting back on track, there may also be discussions about relaxation techniques, varying work schedules, losing weight, upping exercise time, and better diets. Your chiropractor’s goal will be to make everything work for you and help you keep it that way.
Make an appointment today to get started.
Used under Creative Commons Licensing courtesy of Blondinrikard Fröberg