Healthy Home Office

Healthy Home Office – So what has Sports Massage got to do with your Home Office? And a healthy one at that?

A lot of people already work from home, and I treat many of them in my clinic. I help them understand their posture during working and help them to resolve their aches and pains.

However, during this period of strangeness dealing with Coronavirus, a lot of people have been taken the option to work from home as well as being furloughed. So a lot of time is being spent sat down where you wouldn’t ordinarily, as well as sitting in a different position.

Quite often in my Sports Massage clinic, I see home workers who use a laptop sitting upon their sofa. They can’t think why this muscle hurts, or why that muscle hurts.

A female client came to see me who worked sometimes in the office and sometimes at home. She was presenting with glute and thigh pain which was disrupting her running routine. Her desk at work was badly set up to work in a comfortable position. Then when at home, the laptop was on her legs at the sofa. This was aggravating the pain in her glute and thigh. Take a moment to think through why these working positions could be bad for the legs. Think about what muscles are being aggravated.

During sitting, the glute and hamstring muscles as well as the deeper muscles of your bottom are elongated. Along with, the muscles on the front of your thigh are shortened. The human body is designed to be upright and any deviation from this for protracted lengths of time can lead to issues. Especially if you’re not taking any preventative or corrective action to balance your body. After checking my client’s posture and range of movement, I performed massage. This relieved the aggravated hamstring and glute muscles, then released the quads and associated muscles. I then advised her on appropriate stretches and home exercises she should be doing. I also advised her the following, which is something you can do to help prevent the type of pain my client was experiencing.

Top Tips for a Healthy Home Office

Use a separate keyboard from your laptop in order to get the screen of your laptop at a height level with your eyes. This means that you don’t need to dip your head or always look down to work. Don’t have a keyboard? Order one from eBay or ask your company to provide you with one for health reasons.
If your tables at home won’t allow you to have your laptop screen at the right height, place your laptop on books to create the correct height. Use this with a separate keyboard and mouse.
If you don’t have easy access to a table, maybe your children are home schooling from it, use your ironing board. Yep, you read that right! Best of all, your ironing board is adjustable!
Alter your working position regularly, maybe stand at the kitchen counter for a little while. That way you can move your legs about a bit.
Try to sit on a supportive chair or seat; sofas allow too much slouching, after all, they are designed for relaxation. If it is the only option available, a board or hard back book beneath the cushion can improve its firmness.
If you have an actual office at home, have you thought about an adjustable desk to allow for working while standing? It’s a game changer for the hips and back.
And whether you work in an office, home or company, stretch regularly! Arms above your head, rotate your shoulders, stretch your legs and remember to stay hydrated. This will keep your muscles as supple as possible.
Take daily exercise in some form or other. Not only will this help your body stay healthy, it reaps rewards for your mental health too.

A few months on …

My client no longer experiences any discomfort in her legs. With the combination of my sports massage and her putting into action my advice, she achieved balance in her body.

I hope these tips help you during your home-working adventure. If you need to discuss your personal needs more in depth, please do get in touch through a virtual consultation available on the bookings page.

See you on the other side, Chloe.