ARLINGTON, Va. — The stay-at-home orders due to the coronavirus have many people working from home, and that can bring its own challenges including neck and back pains.
One chiropractor in Virginia spoke to WUSA9 to get tips on how we can all make sure we’re keeping our bodies in good shape.
Dr. Hooman Hamidi, a chiropractor at District Wellness said, oftentimes people will attempt to sit on their couches, or even lay in their beds while working and it can cause neck and back pains.
Typically, he works in preventive care, but with the stay-at-home orders in effect for the next few weeks, he said there’s a few things we can do to avoid permanent neck and back pains.
"Try to get up every 30 to 40 minutes and just walk around and do something different," Hamidi said. "If you're seated and you're constantly hunched forward or a phone or computer, then our bodies will remember that position, it's a muscle memory."
Hamidi said that sitting in a hunched position like that for months can cause some severe damage. Your body might still want to bring you into that hunched forward position while walking because it's so accustomed to it.
He said there are a few ways to adjust our work stations at home to help.
"If you always have to look down, try having the standing workstation, or if you're using a phone try to bring it up to eye level," he said.
He also talked about lower back and spinal problems. Having good posture is another key to avoiding neck and back pains. It sounds simple, but many of us are slouching in our chairs when we’re working.
Dr. Hamidi said it’s important to make sure we sit all the way in the chair. He said to look for a good chair that has lower back lumbar support and to make sure that when you sit, you sit in the back of the chair.
"Again, sitting on the couch, sitting in our beds, that's the worst thing you can do for your spine," he continued. "So a simple stretch from the neck and upper back with the just looking up and moving our necks side to side."
Dr. Hamidi suggested that people invest in something to help, like a foam roller or even a tennis or lacrosse ball.
"A lacrosse ball is very simple -- it's a hardball and just simply put it against the wall, and just roll your back or that feels very similar to when you have a massage," Hamidi said.
Dr. Hamidi also said to be mindful of taking pain medicines when you’re uncomfortable because they just mask the problem
He suggests the first thing you should do, is move your body. He also suggested in-home yoga as a good way to stretch your muscles.
