Whether at work or at home, for our chores or even when we linger over our hobbies, we often make the same movements, so the same muscles are used and activated over and over again.
No matter what you do, there are tips to help you avoid future repetitive strain injuries.
The basis is to do other movements that use the muscles differently.
For example, you work sitting at a desk in front of your screen, you write with the keyboard and you manipulate the mouse. The muscles used are those in your neck, to support your head, your hands, wrists, arms and shoulders to manipulate the keyboard and mouse, and your back to support your upper body.
A few moves that might help you are looking up, tilting your head back, and doing shoulder circles in an attempt to relax your neck and shoulder muscles. To add to this movement, raise your arms upwards to accentuate the relaxation of the latter.
Another exercise would be to stand with your feet hip-width apart. Lean forward unrolling one vertebra at a time and try to touch the ground with your fingers. The goal here is to relax and rest your lower back, not to stretch the back of your thighs, so you can bend your knees just fine to allow yourself to bend more.
Posture can also play a big role in your day-to-day comfort at work and can cause a lot of long-term damage.
To ensure a posture that will not cause pain, you do not need sophisticated equipment or completely change your furniture. You may need to get a few extras like an extra keyboard if you’re working on a laptop, a footrest, a monitor or laptop pad, a mouse, or some cushions. Think about what you can save in treatment later by equipping yourself properly.
The most important thing is to sit comfortably on a chair that supports your lower back and that also allows you to have:
- your hips and knees aligned
- your feet touching the ground
- your thighs and calves as well as your forearms and biceps at a 90 degrees angle
- your screen at eye level without having to raise or lower your head
- your back is straight.
Other options are also available, for example, having the option of standing or sitting and varying between the two during the day. There are adjustable active desks or even an addition to your existing desk that allows you to do this easily.
Another example, you work on a construction site, in a warehouse or even outdoors and your job involves lifting high loads.
Here, it is a question of reviewing your bad habits and adapting good work habits rather than performing contrary movements since you are already doing that a lot. Your back should not be the burden bearer. You can use your legs which are much stronger. We use them to walk and move but can also be used as leverage for loads. The way to do this is to stand in front of the load, put your feet a little wider than your hips, lean into a “squat” position, take the load with your hands keeping your arms parallel to your body (do not lift the load with your arms) then gently lift it up using your legs. You can thus carry the object to the desired location and then repeat the movement on the way down, always using your legs and not your back.
Do you work standing up rather statically? Are you a hairdresser, beautician or other? You are on your legs and use your wrists, shoulders and arms a lot repetitively?
Make sure you have the underside of your chest facing your client’s head so you don’t have to raise your arms too high. Also, be sure not to lift your arms too high in forward and backward motions using force. This could cause friction and thus damage your ligaments in the joints and create tension in your elbows and shoulders.
To conclude, in all repeated positions or situations, strengthening muscular endurance is recommended so that your muscles are ready for all situations. Whether you have little time to devote to these workouts, every action counts in trying to avoid injury and even help improve your overall health.
However, if you feel discomfort in your daily life, do not wait! Come and consult quickly to avoid even more costs and future treatments.
Émilie Guichard – Massotherapist
Cindy Luo – Physiotherapist
Valérie Giroux – Kinesiologist
ABC Health Clinic in Vaudreuil
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Émilie Guichard
Massothérapeute
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Cindy Luo
Physiotherapist
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Valérie Giroux
Kinesiologist