Brooklyn Physical Therapy News- Evolve NY
WORKING FROM HOME CAUSING YOU BACK PAIN?
WORKING FROM HOME CAUSING YOU BACK PAIN? GET BACK ON TRACK! Reduce Back Pain while working from home. 4 Tips to Reduce Back Pain-If you’ve been working from home for a while and are noticing lower back pain that lingers, it could be caused by your home office set-up. Working longer hours, not having a supportive chair and poor posture can all lead to back pain. “The urgency in which people were sent home to work during the peak of the pandemic, left little to no time to set up a proper office space,” explains Dr. Nathan Kind, physical therapist at Evolve Sport Rehabilitation - Brooklyn. “Also, without the usual distractions of work, people find themselves sitting for 3-4 hours or more without getting up to run to various meeting room shared office spaces.
GET BACK ON TRACK! Reduce Back Pain While Working from Home.
4 Tips to Reduce Back Pain
If you’ve been working from home for a while and are noticing lower back pain that lingers, it could be caused by your home office set-up. Working longer hours, not having a supportive chair and poor posture can all lead to back pain. “The urgency in which people were sent home to work during the peak of the pandemic, left little to no time to set up a proper office space,” explains Dr. Nathan Kind, physical therapist at Evolve Sport Rehabilitation - Brooklyn. “Also, without the usual distractions of work, people find themselves sitting for 3-4 hours or more without getting up to run to various meeting room shared office spaces.
Extended sitting leads to poor posture, which can ultimately lead to pain. Nathan further explains that “The stress from juggling life at home can also increase pain from ramped up cortisol, tightness in muscles, shallow breathing and decreased circulation throughout the body,” Dr. Kind explains. “It’s been a perfect recipe of factors that contribute to back and neck pain.” Dr. Kind shares advice on how to get “back on track” reduce back pain while working from home.
Tips on How To Reduce Back Pain And Sciatica While Working From Home-
START YOUR DAY WITH A STRETCH!
Whether you’re suffering from pain in the lower back, mid-back, or upper back and shoulders, here are two stretches that are easy to try:
Knee to chest: Don’t be fooled by this stretch’s simplicity. This is a really effective way to stretch the hamstrings and lower back. Lie on your back with your legs flat on the floor. Gently bend one leg up, placing your hands over your knee to hold it in place. Hold this for 30 seconds on each leg.
Side bends: While standing, slowly slide your right hand down the side of your right leg, going as far as you can until you feel any stretch or discomfort. Hold for 10 seconds and ease yourself back to standing. Repeat on the left side.
VIEW YOUR COMPUTER SCREEN WITH A STRAIGHT NECK!
Put your screen in front of you at a comfortable viewing height. Don’t look down at your screen, like to a laptop on a table or to your phone. And don’t angle your screen so you must twist your neck–some people like to put their keyboard and mouse in front of them with their screen off to the side, but then they end up dealing with neck pain from the swiveling. If you have a separate screen or if you are using a laptop, you might have to put it on a pile of books or on a cardboard box to raise it to a comfortable viewing position straight in front of you.
STAY HYDRATED!
Simple, yet often forgotten when we get busy, remember to keep up your water intake. Drinking plenty of water helps keep your muscles and skin well hydrated. It ensures the body has plenty of opportunities to take away waste products from the muscles that are working hard keeping you in your forced typing/desk position. There are also secondary benefits too. You have to get up out of your seat to get a refill, giving you a natural break and, most likely, you will be going to the loo more often!
SCHEDULE TIME FOR YOUR BODY TO MOVE!
When we asked Dr. Kind, what’s the most important advice you can give someone working from home ? He replied “ Take a shake break, take a break simply just to move and schedule time to take care of your body”.
The Key is not to stay in any one position for longer than about 45 minutes. Get up and move around be intentional about your movement. If you have a smartwatch or Fitbit wear it and follow the prompts to stretch.
If you need help with getting back on track schedule Physical Therapy as part of your weekly fitness/wellness routine. There are a lot of simple exercises we can teach you to do at home or at work to strengthen your core and support your lower back and spine.
Got Sciatica? Do you have an excruciating pain or electrical shock feeling running down your back and legs that just won't quit? Check Out Some of Evolve Physical Therapy’s Lower Back Stretches and Sciatica Specific Stretches…
Got Pain? Schedule a Consultation Today! Walk Ins Welcome.
Got lower back pain and/or Sciatica? Call us today to schedule an appointment! Call- 1-718-258-3300
About Evolve Physical Therapy in Brooklyn-
There’s physical therapy, there’s training, and then there’s EVOLVE. We use the science of bio-mechanics merged with fitness to help our patients get better and stay better!
First we evaluate, then we heal, then we strengthen our clients so they can reach their goals, feel better, and live happier lives. We do so by utilizing a range of core techniques and specialized treatments to reduce pain, improve mobility, enhance physical strength and deal with the underlying issues, not just the pain itself.
Multiple Locations!
How Can Physical Therapy Help My Sciatica?
Physical Therapy and Sciatica- Physical Therapy is beneficial for people with sciatica for many different reasons. Therapy can help manage inflammation, improve daily function, and prevent future exacerbations of symptoms. Sciatica is best defined as irritation or inflammation along the pathway of the sciatic nerve which branches from your lower back, through your hips and down each leg, innervating many muscles.
Physical Therapy and Sciatica
Physical Therapy is beneficial for people with sciatica for many different reasons. Therapy can help manage inflammation, improve daily function, and prevent future exacerbations of symptoms. Sciatica is best defined as irritation or inflammation along the pathway of the sciatic nerve which branches from your lower back, through your hips and down each leg, innervating many muscles.
Sciatica is described as pain on one side, from the low back to the buttock, down the back of the thigh and sometimes reaching the calf. This pain is often accompanied by numbness and/or tingling, may present as a mild ache, or a sharp burning sensation and may get worse with prolonged sitting. Increased abdominal pressure may make it worse, such as when sneezing or coughing. Although described as “sciatica”, the symptoms experienced will vary from person to person.
There are many possible causes for pain that travels down the leg. This may be described as “radiating pain”. However, true radiculopathy includes diminished reflexes, sensation loss/changes, and weakness. Some causes of sciatic symptoms include hamstring strains, a herniated disc, tissue degeneration, spinal stenosis, small stress fractures, sacroiliac joint dysfunction, and piriformis syndrome. Your physical therapist can determine the root of the cause by using special neurodynamic testing.
Without understanding the reason for your sciatic symptoms, it may be difficult to treat your symptoms with long term relief. A great physical therapist will give you a specific plan of care to address the cause of the pain with the goal of resolving this episode and preventing future exacerbations. Specific exercises will target underlying causes. For example, if the cause of the pain is from a herniated disc, exercises will include putting your spine in a position to encourage extension, taking pressure off of the disc and decreasing pain. Acute cases of sciatica usually get better with 4-6 weeks of physical therapy. Chronic sciatic pain that has lasted for over 8 weeks may take longer to resolve in PT.
You and your physical therapist will become a team in order to get yourself better. Being consistent with home exercises and focusing on correct form will take you a long way. This is key in getting the maximum benefits of your treatments.
Some general goals for physical therapy may include:
Increase core strength, including the low back, abdomen, glutes, and hips.
Stretching to loosen tight muscles, such as the hamstrings
Increase circulation with light aerobic exercises like walking, swimming, stationary recumbent cycling, and using the elliptical.
While you may be able to find temporary relief on your own with home remedies, a physical therapist at Evolve will work with you in order to treat the underlying cause of the issue and provide long term relief.
Click here to find out more information about physical therapy for Sciatica
About Evolve Physical Therapy in Brooklyn-
Got Pain? Schedule a Consultation Today! Walk Ins Welcome.
Brooklyn's Premier Holistic Physical Therapy Clinics- There’s physical therapy, there’s training, and then there’s EVOLVE. We use the science of biomechanics merged with fitness to help our patients get better and stay better!
First we evaluate, then we heal, then we strengthen our clients so they can reach their goals, feel better, and live happier lives. We do so by utilizing a range of core techniques and specialized treatments to reduce pain, improve mobility, enhance physical strength and deal with the underlying issues, not just the pain itself.
Multiple Locations!
