Working from home is not as convenient and simple as it seems. Those who do not have an adequate desk, ergonomic chair and a correct position can choose with great back pain or they can aggravate the existing ones. And during this period, doing your investigations in medical offices or going to recovery is an almost impossible mission. It is best to prevent problems.
From now on, we work from home! The announcement, made perhaps from one day to the next, took many Romanians by surprise. Among all the things that needed to be worked out, no one was able to shake their heads with a seemingly minor aspect: office layout. Each of them dug up a small workspace, sat down on what they found and got to work. Some found it even more pleasant and comfortable to sit with the laptop in their arms on their favorite chair. But staying in such a position for hours will seriously damage your spine. "If the monitor is below eye level, you tend to keep your head bent, you will put pressure on the cervical area and pain can occur. If you work from the bed, from the couch or from a regular chair, the column will not be in the right position, and within a few hours, lumbar pain may occur, ”warns Dr. Codruta Cioponea, medical rehabilitation specialist, physical medicine and balneology. , expert in musculoskeletal recovery.
Not every persisting back pain means disc herniation. Most of the time, the pain is caused by the overload of the paravertebral muscles. "To understand it easier, I explain to my patients like this: try to hold your fist tight for a whole day, then in the evening, undo it. Of course it will be stung and you will have pain. Exactly the same thing happens at the level of the muscles that support the spine. We have hours in the same position and, when we get up and change our position, the muscles relax, "says the doctor.
Solutions for back pain
First of all it is mandatory to have an ergonomic, flexible office chair with adjustable seat and back, and its movement is in sync with the natural movement of the body. Basically, the chair has to move constantly, holding your body in a dynamic support. In such a chair, the back should be straight, glued to the back of the chair, the soles on the floor, the angle of the hips and knees 90 degrees, the head forward, never bent more than 10 degrees, and the monitor should be in front of the eyes .
You didn't have time to buy such a chair (which, in fact, must be tested in the store, not bought online)? Then you can sit on a yoga ball (it can be easier to order from the internet if you don't have one). "It is much better than any fixed chair in the kitchen or living room. It warns you when you are no longer comfortable and you have to change your position, you can make lateral movements, you can keep your back straight. In this way, you activate the deep paravertebral musculature and prevent the risk of back pain ”, adds Dr. Codruta Cioponea, doctor at Quantica 720. Attention! These balls are also on sizes (S, M, L), adapted to height. When sitting on them, the soles should be relaxed on the floor, with a knee angle of 90 degrees.
Another important thing to prevent back pain is to take breaks of 5 minutes per hour, in which to get up, to take a few steps through the house, to die. "If the cervical area hurts, do stretching exercises, raising your hands and shoulders up, aligning your neck with the rest of your spine. If the lumbar area hurts, the easiest exercise is to stretch on a harder surface, leave your body relaxed and your spine straightening, then bring both knees to your chest. Thus, there is a delineation of the spine, stretching and tightening the paravertebral musculature, ”the doctor says.
When to worry
During this period, we can only go to the doctor for emergencies. Simple consultations can be performed online. There are medical platforms where you can schedule for a virtual consultation, there are also general kinetotherapy programs (on youtube) or adapted (on medical centers websites). You should go to the doctor for further investigations, such as X-ray or MRI, in the case of a disc herniation. "Signs of concern are the sharp pain that goes down like a power cord on the foot, the sensation of numbness or lack of strength (you feel like" losing "your foot, you can not climb stairs)," draws the attention of the specialist. The treatment of back pain and even disc herniation is, in most cases, non-surgical. It consists of physiotherapy, medical exercises, anti-inflammatory drugs, pain medication or nerve root protection, epidural infiltration with cortisol or platelet-enriched plasma.
