With the coronavirus forcing a lot of people to stay home and work remotely, more and more people are becoming sedentary. Desk or more sedentary jobs are booming in recent years, up 80% from the 1950s. And with more sedentary positions comes a higher percentage of back and neck problems. A big neck pain cause is related to sitting for long periods of time, which may have you searching for a chiropractor near me. Here in Orlando, Winter Park Chiropractic can help alleviate the back and neck pain you may be experiencing from your job. Read on to find out some other ways you can use to combat this discomfort.
A Sitting Epidemic?
While desk jobs should not be an automatic deterrent to you as they can be more sedentary, it’s more about how you combat sitting all day and keep yourself moving that you should be concerned with. You may not realize how often you’re sitting throughout the day: eating, driving, watching TV, and browsing the Internet. If you also add a full eight-hour workday to this schedule, then there may not be a lot of physical exercise in your daily routine.
Studies conducted by the Mayo Clinic found that sitting for more than eight hours a day and not getting any physical activity during the day has a risk of dying similar to the risks of dying from obesity and smoking. That’s not great news considering the typical desk job individual sits for roughly 15 hours a day, and potentially more if there’s a commute involved.
If that isn’t a shock enough, sitting for long periods of time can also have negative overall health consequences as well. You are at a greater risk of obesity, high blood pressure, higher cholesterol, stroke, and heart disease if you aren’t moving around throughout the day. If you lead a mostly sedentary lifestyle, you’re twice as likely to develop cardiovascular disease than your more active peers.
Neck Pain Causes
The most basic health issues associated with sitting for long periods of time are hard enough to digest, let alone any pain you may be experiencing right now. What about the neck pain you’re experiencing right now, as opposed to the complications you may run into down the road?
Most of the time, our neck pain is coming from the more awkward positions we’re in while working from a computer. You may be leaning forward to read small text or your chair is or isn’t close enough to the desk or computer, causing your neck to be in different angles and positions that can cause discomfort. This begins unnatural stress on your vertebrae, which can exacerbate improper posture while you’re trying to compensate for the pain in your neck, and now back.
You may be getting discouraged as if you do have a desk job, how can you combat all these things at once? It may make your search for a chiropractor near me but don’t fret just yet. Researchers are realizing the greater impact more sedentary lifestyles are having on your body, and are coming up with ways to avoid sitting for long periods of time. One activity is clearly to get up and move more, but if you’re focused on your job you may lose track of time easily. A lot of smartphones, watches, and apps can help remind you to get up and move around with timers set for specific times throughout the day. Utilizing your lunch hour or half hour to walk around can not only help your body get more active but give you some fresh air and clear your mind to better focus on work when you get back.
There are also great exercises you can do right at your desk to improve circulation and keep your body moving. Sometimes just walking or standing isn’t enough, and more physical movement would be ideal to keep your body in tip-top shape. There are also ergonomic tips to help relieve some neck and back pressure from your work routine and posture that can improve these discomforts. Desks are evolving as well, with treadmill desks and elevation desks. The treadmill desks are the best as they provide the most physical exertion you can do while working. There are desks that raise and lower themselves or a stand you can place on your desk that allows your laptop or keyboard to rise up, allowing you to stand instead of sit while still working.
The Bottom Line
As long as you’re making a conscious effort to move and stay as active as possible while working, a desk job is not a death sentence by any means. Any kind of break in sitting during the day will have great benefits and will help alleviate any pain you may be experiencing in your neck, hopefully stopping your search for a chiropractor near me.
Contact Us
If you are still struggling with neck pain throughout your work day, the next step may be to seek chiropractic help in Orlando for your neck pain causes. Winter Park Chiropractic has the skills and experience to help alleviate your pain and will help you try to avoid any further issues in the future. Call us today!
