Over the past year, almost half of the U.K has had their commute changed from travelling to a separate building, to taking a few steps to their home office barely needing to fully open their eyes as a result of the pandemic. Since returning to work after the first lock down in May, Flex Health have seen a range of injuries in the general population and sporting athletes that could have been caused by this reduction in general movement. This has sparked me to offer out some advice and hopefully something useful to the wider community in the hope it will help!
These pains and injuries we've noticed have been anything from high levels of pain to an increase in stiffness and discomfort, covering areas from the neck, shoulders, lower back and hips. It's hard to say for definite, but there’s a good chance that this reduced movement is a contributing factor to an increase in pain. It is well documented that non-specific exercise such as 15 minute daily walk can help improve both physical and mental health, in addition to specifically improving symptoms for people who suffer with lower back pain.
A lot of work related injury is put down to postural adaptations that occur when sitting at work. Stereotypically sitting with a hunched back and shoulders leads to an increased chance of experiencing pain. However, even if sitting in a perfectly upright position for 8 hours a day, unfortunately there’s a good chance you’ll suffer from some injury. The reason injury can occur following prolonged time in different postures is because a lot of structures in the body respond well to regular movement.
There are some simple ways of trying to keep yourself moving during the day. Setting an alarm or a reminder on your phone for every 30 minutes can be a good start. When the alarm goes off, get up and spend the next 5 minutes doing some light exercise and movement, whether this be a short walk around your house or garden, or simply performing sit to stands from your chair! If you manage to set the alarm every 30 minutes, one time you can perform this 5 minute block of exercise, and the next time you could keep it even simpler and just adjust your sitting position for 30 seconds and then continue working. If you manage to continue to do this during the day and work 9-5pm, you’ll be completing 35 minutes more exercise than you would do normally, which can make a big difference to those little aches and pains.
Of course it is advisable to contact a healthcare professional before beginning any specific exercises to help treat pain. If you have any questions about any injury concerns or want anymore advice, please get in touch through our website, Facebook or Instagram.
