As restrictions continue to be in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us are working from home. Clients presenting to Northside Physio have a variety of injuries from this new change to the workplace. The top 3 of these are:
- Neck pain
- Lower limb (knees, ankles, hips)
- Lower back pain
If you are one of these people from 1 or 3, it’s not surprising. Adapting from having an office space, with regular movement to a squished house, tiny monitor and track suit pants. Most complaints by clients are stiffness and localised pain due to lack of mobility during the day. Instead of going for a lunchtime walk to get food or coffee, it’s a short walk to the fridge in your slippers and then back to the dining room table for the next round of Zoom calls.
On the other end of the spectrum you have the go getters who have now acquired an extra 2 hours in their day as they don’t have to commute any more. The extra time allows them to do exercise and increase frequency. But with fitness centres shut, the options for exercise become quite small. The uptake in running, online home apps and live video streaming has seen clients sustain lower limb injuries (and others) from either incorrect technique, too much load or poor choice of exercise.
The advice from Physiotherapists:
- If it hurts, don’t do it.
- If your niggle doesn’t go away, get advice.
- Look at your desk setup and consult your physio if you don’t think it’s right, a little modification can go a long way.
- Remember how much your body did pre-covid and plan for a slow increase to exercise, don’t go gangbusters!
- Movement is medicine – short breaks and mobility during the day are key!
- If you aren’t sure what exercise is right for you, physios are here to help.
