Preventing Back and Neck Pain When E-Learning
With the start of the school year approaching, many students are returning to e-learning formats. Students are commonly not used to sitting in front of a computer all day for school learning. Within the in-person environment, students aren’t always in front of a computer screen and generally move in the classroom or when they switch classrooms. With e-learning at home, students may be more sedentary. Neck and back pain complaints are often seen after periods of prolonged sitting, especially with poor posture. Parents and students can use these tips to help in preventing back and neck pain as students return to e-learning this year.
Does Poor Posture Really Cause Back Pain?
How many times have you heard from your elders to “Sit up straight” or “Stop slouching.” We often hear these phrases growing up and many others like them. But how much does our posture relate to the development of back pain? Growing up, I always thought it was very important and as I began my training as a physical therapist, that was reaffirmed. However, as I became more of an orthopedic expert, I realized it is not nearly as important as we were told.
The Not-So-Comfortable Home Office
Over the last several months the opportunities to Work from Home (WFH) have kept a large majority of the population safe and healthy. Yet, WFH may not always be as comfortable as it sounds. Many workers have needed to trade in their rolling chair and dual computer monitors for the family room couch and laptop. Small changes to someone’s work environment may be on-setting large differences in the way our bodies are used to moving. These changes may also result in new feelings of soreness and pain. It is important to be mindful of the things we can do in order to combat the challenges of WFH to minimize the potential aches and pains of home office life.
Work from Home Posture Tips
During this time, people may find themselves working from home. Many are transitioning to work from home from an office setting and your home is most likely not as equipped as your office. Please take these tips into consideration to decrease aches and pains in the coming weeks.
Is Sitting the New Smoking?
There has been a lot of media attention the past few years equating sitting to being as bad for your health as smoking. The public concern has resulted in what you might expect: office workers switching to stand-up desks, sales of exercise balls, fitness tracker purchases, and even people utilizing treadmills while they’re working on a computer. But is all this worry over sitting warranted? Let’s take a look.
Treatment Options for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal tunnel is one of the most well-known and commonly treated hand/wrist conditions. Some of the telltale signs of this condition include numbness and/or tingling throughout your thumb, index finger and middle finger, as well as weakened grip strength and decreased hand coordination. Not everyone notices pain, although pain in the palm or wrist is not uncommon.
Common Gamer Injuries & Treatment Options
Hai Lam. Paul “sOAZ” Boyer. Clinton Loomis. While these names do not have the same mass recognition as popular athletes like Lebron James, Drew Brees, or even Mitch Trubisky, they certainly are recognized as the best in their sport. Not just any sport, but “esports,” if you will. Their offensive weapons aren’t balls, bats or sticks, but rather keyboards, headsets and hand-held controllers. Instead of defeating their opponent on an athletic field, their fields of play lie in the digital battlefields of games such as Defense of the Ancients (DOTA), League of Legends and Warcraft 3. These men were once at the height of their game. Veritable legends. Unfortunately their ascent into gaming immortality was cut short by upper extremity (UE) injuries from overuse and improper ergonomics.
Keeping our Nurses Healthy: Preventing Back Sprains and Strains
Nursing is a tough, physically demanding job and the data proves it. There were over 33,000 soft tissue injuries sustained by nursing professionals in 2013. The average number of days lost was 8. For those counting, that’s a total of 264,000 days of lost time, valuable time, spent inactive and unable to perform.
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