SAN ANTONIO — The coronavirus pandemic has forced many of us to spend months working from home. But your homemade office space may be giving you aches and pains.
"Having a dedicated space that you can set up to maximize your body's ability to be present and to be erect and upright will not only increase your efficiency but also decrease some of those aches and pains that you get," said Dr. Andrew Bennett from Texas Physical Therapy Specialists.
Dr. Bennet told me that a lot of my workspace just wasn't the right height.
"Right now in order to get your work done you're having to constantly look down which puts undue strain on the neck and on your eyes."
To fix it--- Dr. Bennett said, "That's probably two Amazon boxes, those thin Amazon boxes. You probably have a bunch of those laying around the house. You turn them upside down you can get that high enough."
But that raises the keyboard. You can fix that problem by buying a separate keyboard, or sitting on a cushion to raise your body so your arms are perpendicular to the computer screen while you type.
Dr. Bennett said, "If you'll grab a cushion, I think you have one over there. Now that your hands back on that keyboard put the keyboard back we had it. Now your hands are in a very relaxed and supportive position."
Buying a desk chair would be the optimal solution if you aren't using one already.
Most mornings, I spend my Zoom meeting time riding an exercise bike.
How good of an idea is that?
Dr. Bennett said, "I love that you are moving. So many of us are stuck at our make Home desks and are not moving so kudos to you for getting creative." But make sure whatever device you are using to Zoom is at eye level to avoid straining your neck by looking down."
Also, make sure to pace yourself and make sure to take at least a 30-second break every 30 minutes since you are likely not getting as much movement as you would in the office.
Stretching is also a must.
Dr. Bennett said, "If you get out of those positions, squeezing the shoulder blades back open often times it’ll change sort of that forward focus posture that we tend to fall into."
As for why the Texas Physical Therapy Specialists are doing these free assessments, Dr. Bennett said, "We want to help people stay healthy for as long as possible so this is a small way that we feel like we can give back to our community."
Check out the Texas Physical Therapy Specialists "Work-From-Home Survival Kit Resource Page" and more about their free assessments here: https://www.texpts.com/work-from-home-survival-guide/
This link will give you more information about the clinic: https://www.texpts.com/
Check out this study to learn about the evolving world of working from home: https://news.lenovo.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Technology-and-the-Evolving-World-of-Work_Lenovo-IDG-Global-Research-Report_FINAL.pdf