Many people have been “stuck” at home since March this year. This is a whole 5 months. Even the strongest amongst us are feeling the pressure. Here are some tips to help you cope.
DO NOT listen to the news every day. The “news” is not really news when you get to hear the same thing every day, day in, day out. Look up goodnewsnetwork.org to see lots of articles that will make you laugh and smile and help you to see that there is real news worth checking out.
DO reach out for help, if you are feeling miserable or if you feel things are getting hopeless. If you already have people you can talk to, don’t put it off. Do it now. If you are isolated (physically) and feel like you cannot cope any more, then lookup au.reachout.com. Most of the critical services are provided for free.
TAKE up a new hobby. Our body health is controlled by the brain. Learn a new language, play computer games, build something new, try anything you have not done before. Not only will you have something to look forward to each day, you will be “exercising” the brain and will build new neural connections/pathways, which will help to keep your brain stimulated and happy.
MOVE. The importance of this cannot be understated. Our bodies love to move. Movement stimulates the brain, lubricates the joints and makes us breath more. If your body is able, then consider spending 30 minutes early in the day, every day, to do an an exercise program (even if it’s just walking around the back garden!). There are plenty of programs available for free on the Internet. You will notice that your day will look very different once you have finished. If you are unable to exercise, the at least consider walking and/or standing, rather than sitting. Try walking while you read your book. If you are working from home and have to work at a desk, take frequent breaks… i.e. get up and run on the spot, skip around the house, do some push-ups, or anything else that gets you to MOVE. Each time you move, it flushes your brain with fresh oxygen and blood and you will be able to work better and feel happier.
LISTEN to your body. For most people this is as simple as deciding whether you are hungry, tired, sleepy or sick.
While it may be tempting to indulge in alcoholic drinks, remember that alcohol is still a drug and at some stage, your body will tell you to stop!
Try to maintain a rough timetable in your day and make sure it involves sleep. Your body will appreciate it if you can get 8 hours of sleep every day. Yes, it’s tempting to tell yourself that watching another episode of a TV series at 11:30pm won’t matter as you don’t have to go to work the next day. Again, your body will tell you that something is not right the next day. If you do this often enough, your ability to do your daily tasks will diminish and your health will eventually suffer.
If you do any exercise and it hurts, your body is telling you that something is wrong. Stop doing that exercise and pick something different, or simply let your body rest for a day or two. If the pain does not go away or gets worse, consider getting treatment. You are permitted to seek medical treatment and remember we are still open and ready to help.
On August 3, the Victorian government updated the restrictions on travel and other activities to help with the spread of the coronavirus. It is important to understand that your good health, while at home, or work, is still very important. To this end, we refer you to the following taken from the Department of Health and Human Resources website:
Care and health care:
You can leave home to receive health care or attend medical appointments. If you need to see a doctor or health care professional, you should do so. Do not put off getting medical care. Your doctor or health care professional can provide advice on how to stay safe.
You can leave home to care for a sick or elderly relative. If you are providing care for someone you should try to keep 1.5 metres between you when you can. Wear a face covering.
You can leave home to accompany someone for essential medical treatment if you are a parent, guardian or necessary support person.
You can take a pet to the vet.
Happy Healthy Bodies Chiropractic is still open and seeing patients.
Please look at our updated office procedures here to see how we are making sure that everybody remains safe while we look after you.
Update 7/8/2020: Remember that if you are in urgent need of our care, you are permitted to travel from anywhere in Victoria to get help in our clinic. There is no travel restriction for this purpose.
The health department has given clear guidelines on what to do to manage your health during this COVID-19 lockdown. Details can be found here.
Doing a fitness program at home can have many advantages over going to a gym, including the primary benefit during these community restrictions of not having to hop in the car and travel – minimising your exposure to COVID-19. Home exercise allows you to stay healthy while on lockdown. This is increasingly important to counteract today’s increased computer time, virtual work environments, stress and restlessness.
However, without guidance, doing exercises in isolation can also come with its own set of risks and challenges.
Incorrect posture during workouts, inappropriate choice of weights or resistance band sizes, and inappropriate exercise intensity are major contributors to many of the “sports” injuries people incur during training at home.
Our clinicians are all qualified to assess your health issues, and are able to provide valuable advice to assist with your home training. These include tips to improve or modify your exercise program to be more optimally aligned with your body’s specific needs. Specificity during exercise helps you to continue to improve and stay well while training at home.
Just as exercise professionals, our clinicians can also guide you how to align your body to get maximum benefit from an exercise – including how to engage your core muscles to decrease the risk of lower back injuries. In addition, they can advise you on the pacing and repetitions that are the most beneficial to your body needs, no matter your fitness level.
If you are constrained to training at home by yourself, we recommend if possible that you bring a mirror into the training area and observe your own posture. This allows you to make corrections while you are training. Additionally, if you are isolated with family or a housemate, their observations may also be valuable; while they might not be professionally qualified, any observations of your training posture to compare to your Chiropractor’s advice can be helpful!
MOST IMPORTANTLY, if you find that you are experiencing pain during your workout routine or are having trouble doing your normal daily activities immediately following your workout, we recommend that you seek advice from us as soon as possible to avoid the risk of sustaining further injury.
AUSTRALIANS URGED TO REASSESS THEIR WORK FROM HOME SET-UP AS CHIROPRACTORS ACROSS AUSTRALIA SEE RISE IN PAIN CASES
Working from home here to stay: The COVID-19 pandemic is sparking a more lasting shift in the nature of our work, and new employment patterns are expected to become the ‘new normal’.1
1 in 3 Australians could find themselves needing a permanent work from home set-up: About 30% of Australian jobs can be performed from home, that’s 4 million Australians who could find themselves needing a more permanent work from home arrangement.1
Make-shift ‘work from home’ arrangements could pose risk to Australians physical health: From ironing boards to the kitchen bench, sitting or standing for prolonged periods of time with bad posture can result in back and neck pain and, if left untreated, lead to problems including chronic back pain, diabetes, heart disease and obesity. 2
Impact of poor posture can extend far beyond the immediate aches and pains: Spinal problems have the potential to affect your mental and physical wellbeing, beyond just neck and back pain.3
Having a safe and appropriate work from home set-up a must to reduce risk of spinal stress: Experts say four easy steps could help Australian’s ensure their work from home set-up is comfortable, safe and reduces the risk of injury to their spine.
As Australia verges on more than two months in lockdown and the nation-wide shift to working from home has become the ‘new normal’, Tracey Lademann, from Happy Healthy Bodies Chiropractic is urging locals to pay attention to their ‘at home office’ set up after chiropractors across Australia report an increase in cases of back and neck pain.
Dr Anthony Coxon, leading chiropractor and President of the Australian Chiropractors Association says: “Myself and other chiropractors across Australia have already seen an increase in patients who are reporting spinal and neck pains and injuries due to peering at a tiny laptop screen all day.
This increase is largely the result of the number of people having to ‘make-do’ with what’s available to them at home to ensure they are able to work during the lockdown restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
According to research approximately 30% of jobs in Australia can be performed from home, which means four million Australians could find themselves working from make-shift ‘work from home’ arrangements if the COVID-19 pandemic sparks a more long-lasting shift in the way we work.1
“We can’t assume that everyone who is forced to work from home has an appropriate and safe set up. This is also a particular challenge for those who need to combine their job with family care responsibilities, and for people living in space-constrained living conditions,” says Dr Coxon.
“One of the most common injuries from working from home is neck pain and it is caused by working at a laptop all day. Typically, individuals slant their neck forward and hunch their shoulders which increases the stress placed on the cervical spine (aka the neck).
As a general rule, every 2.5cm that the head is held forward in poor posture, an additional 4-5kg of weight is felt on the neck – almost doubling the weight of the head,” explains Dr Anthony Coxon. According to Dr Coxon the impact of additional strain placed upon the body from sitting or standing with poor posture for longer periods of time extends beyond just back and neck pain.
“The complications of poor posture can include spinal dysfunction, joint degeneration, rounded shoulders, a potbelly and lead to serious chronic health conditions if left untreated.”
The inadequate ‘work from home’ arrangements are just one component worrying experts, with the mental health impacts of the pandemic also playing a role in the physical presentations Dr Coxon and his colleagues are seeing in clinic.
“Interestingly, there is a relationship between physical and mental health – indirectly, stress is one of the main reasons Australians visit chiropractors. When you’re stressed and anxious you naturally hold tension in your body and often skew your head position forwards. Your nervous system is in a hyper-vigilant flight/fight state. Similarly, a depressed state is often associated with a slumped over posture” says Dr Anthony Coxon. “Both of which can cause physical pain to the body, particularly the neck and spine.”
The increase of individuals experiencing pain will further exacerbate the pain epidemic that Australia currently faces. One in five individuals over the age of 45 reportedly live with a chronic pain4 and 4 million Australians suffer from back pain,5 however pain also weighs heavy on a sufferer’s mental health – with people living in pain reporting a lower quality of life as they are five times as likely to be unable to carry out day to day activities.4
With such focus on mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is vital that individuals recognise the ways in which this can also harm their body physically. “It is normal to feel stress, anxious or depressed in this uncertain time and not everyone has the luxury of home offices but we must remember to look after ourselves both physically and mentally – chiropractic practices remain open across the country to help you alleviate pain”.
BEFORE AFTER
To help Australians ensure their at-home workstation is comfortable, safe and most importantly reduces risk of injury, Dr Coxon recommends following the simple ‘STAR’ four steps:
S
Set up your workstation: get the ergonomics right
Sit with your feet flat on the ground with your hips slightly higher than knees. Your arms should be relaxed and by your side with your elbows at 100 – 120 degrees.
T
Tidy your desk: separate your keyboard and mouse from your screen
It’s simply impossible to have good posture while working at laptop. Either use a desktop or add a separate keyboard and mouse to your laptop so you can elevate the screen while keeping the keyboard and mouse at hand level.
A
Assess yourself
A common and simply exercise to assess whether you are experiencing increased spinal or neck pain is to turn your head 90 degrees to the left and 90 degrees to the right. If you notice pain, please do reach out to your local chiropractor – our practices remain open.
R
Rest: Take regular breaks
In a typical work environment, people will get out of the chair often during the day to talk to a colleague. Depending on your home environment, you may not necessarily have these cues to move. Commit yourself to getting out of your chair at least every 30 minutes to move and do a few stretches. The Straighten Up App is a great guide for some useful exercises.
About ACA:
The Australian Chiropractors Association (ACA) is the leading voice for chiropractors in Australia, actively working to further the profession of chiropractic through improving the health of all Australians.
This media release has been distributed by opr Agency on behalf of Australian Chiropractors Association.
Stubbs B et al, The epidemiology of back pain and its relationship with depression, psychosis, anxiety, sleep disturbances, and stress sensitivity: Data from 43 low- and middle-income countries. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0163834316302201 [Last accessed 14 May 2020]
All businesses are now feeling the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic. Happy Healthy Bodies Chiropractic is no exception. We are fortunate to be allowed to keep our clinic open during the state-wide lock-down, to allow us to continue to focus on the general health and well being of the community. The COVID-19 pandemic has added extra challenges to patient care, as we are now managing patients who may be experiencing extra anxiety, in addition to their existing health issues.
It is during these challenging times, that our receptionists and support staff have proven that great teamwork and innovation are crucial to running our business. They have had to manage the increased safety measures put in place for all of our staff and patients. This is no trivial exercise and as principal chiropractor for the business, I would like to publicly thank our Chiropractic Assistants, Melissa, Leah, Lauren and Tasha for their dynamic and passionate support.
