Home Office Assessment
House call chiropractic care, amongst its many benefits, provides insight into our lifestyle habits. Young individuals, whether they are new parents or in the grind of the Tech industry, are very aware and concerned of their posture. In conjunction with getting adjusted, to realign and strengthen the spine, having your lifestyle assessed is vital to how you respond to care and continue to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
There are are a few main home assessments that I do - the number one being home work space environment. Home work space assessments will help many of you understand the simple changes you can make to be ergonomic while at home. This can be for the blogger, the web surfer, and those that do the majority of their work while at home.
Why is home work space assessment important?
How you work from home will directly affect your posture.
Poor Posture will create:
Spinal Pain: neck tension, low back pain, sciatica, headaches, disc issues, rib misalignment
Nerve Pain: altering the natural curves of the spine with create tension within the spinal cord and the exiting nerve roots; neuropathies, “pinched” nerve, numbness/tingling, burning pain
Increased Pressure on Organs: high blood pressure, decreased lung capacity
Posture Compensations: muscular spasms, trigger points, tight hip flexors, weak core
Having a specific analysis is the best route to take, and that is a benefit The Heights Chiropractic provides for clients. The more specific you are, the better. Everyone is different, which means your specific height, needs, and abilities will require a unique adjustment.
How You Work From Home
This can easily be the lead cause for poor posture. It is easy to sit on the couch, lean over coffee tables, or set the laptop on the table. All these positions promote forward head posture, rolled shoulders, and increased pressure on the low back.
Luckily, there are many products out there that will help assist you in creating a work space that will be good to your spine. I recommend you research all products out there, and these are just a few examples of qualities for you to look for.
Ideal Posture
Standing - Most people do not have a standing desk at home. For this you can get a table top converter (images below). While standing, be sure to shift weight equally on legs, or prop a leg on a stool and alternate. By bending the knees and engaging the thighs, you prevent yourself from bending at the waist while in the standing position.
Elbows at 90 degrees - Having a table top converter is a great way to ensure you have one level for the keyboard, and one for the computer. There are converters out there that only have a flat surface, but I do not recommend those. The reason for that is because if you raise a computer to eye level, then your elbows are more at a 45 degree angle. If you put it so the elbows are at 90 degrees, then your chin goes into flexion and you are no longer looking at eye level. That it why it is important to have a desk converter with two levels.
Computer Screen at eye level - Having the computer slightly lower or slightly higher than eye level can still create neck tension over time. Make sure you have it at eye level, which means sometimes putting books underneath the desktop or the laptop.
How to make a home office
Table Top Converter for a sit-stand desk
Remote/wired Keyboard and mouse
Optional: standing matt; foldable laptop stand
This is a beginners recipe for a better home work space environment! Schedule here for a new patient appointment, and get a specific and personalized home work space assessment!
We can only heighten our health if we have to tools in our lifestyle to do so! Happy reading,
Dr. Katherine McCarty, D.C.