Pitfalls and Perils of working from home!

It has been a fair few weeks now that most of the world has been out of the office and working from home. Not only does this bring the temptation to work long hours, it brings … boredom! Which means we look for any excuse to get out and do something other than working. However sometimes this can lead to injury and pain. I just thought I would provide you guys with a few tips and tricks to help prevent injury whilst working from home.

1. “I like to move it, move it”
Yes as those crazy lemurs in the movie Madagascar tell us, movement is the best possible thing you can do for your body. Trying to stand up roughly every 20-40min is shown to have multiple positive effects on our bodies. It can help our blood pressure, biomechanics and even our brains! However, doing this is often a lot harder than it sounds. Since you’re working from home, there is no walking to meeting rooms, no popping around the corner for a coffee or running down to the printer. To combat this, make an excuse for yourself to get up. For example; try and take your zoom meeting outside, make sure you take your coffee break in a different spot or even setting an alarm to get yourself moving!

2. “Chores glorious chores!”
We’ve all done it! Tackled a clean out project that was just too big. If you have a big garden or are needing to clear out the garage, think about doing little bits at a time to give your body a bit of a break. Doing this will help prevent muscle fatigue and decrease the chance of injury.

3. “Running AND walkin’ on sunshine”
Now that we don’t have to spend all that time commuting into work, everyone has some extra time now to spend on some exercise! In the clinic we have seen a big increase in the distance our patients are walking and running. The most important thing to remember is to pace yourself. A gradual increase in activity will give you the best chance to prevent injury. Particularly with running and walking, make sure to only increase one of the following at a time; distance traveled, speed or the amount/steepness of hills.

Some super simple tips to help decrease the chance of an injury. If you are have any questions or queries about any of the above, please contact the clinic and will be more than happy to have a chat!

Written by Ben Cunningham, Physiotherapist.