Over the past few months, we have all seen a change in lifestyle, and for many that means working from home full time. The change was so abrupt many do not have the accommodations necessary for proper workplace ergonomics and spinal health and safety. Many of my patients’ report working from a kitchen table on a laptop, or worse, from their couches!

Some have been lucky enough to get standing desks or have a decent office desk and chair set up, but for many, their aches and pains and becoming more and more apparent. In fact I’m seeing a big uptick in shoulder stiffness, neck pain, radiculopathy (numbness and tingling into the arm and/or hand), and tension headaches. Just in the past few weeks even, and unfortunately the longer it stays like this the worse off people will be.

“It’s only been happening for the last 6 week for so”

I’m optimistic we will adapt over time no matter what the future holds in store, however in the short term, neck pain and shoulder stiffness are going to be felt by a lot of people.

Is there any way to fix that? I highly recommend my Spinal Hygiene Videos where I will teach you a combination of movements, stretches and exercises that are designed not only to help relieve tension and pain but also proactively strengthen, and stabilize the spine so you have less problems in the long run. Just like Dental Hygiene!

If you don’t have a standing desk I encourage you to raise you monitor or laptop screen up (which may mean you need to use a separate keyboard and mouse if you’re on a laptop), ideally, looking straight ahead, with the top of the screen at eyebrow level or slightly higher is a good rule of thumb.

Sometimes with all the stretching, massage and ergonomics in the world, you still just can’t get the kink out of your neck, or the muscles may keep tightening, sometimes, even to the point of spasms and burning pain. If the pain starts traveling into the shoulders, arms and hands, or you are experiencing numbness or tingling you need more then a better desk or stretch. You very likely have vertebral subluxation AKA misalignment of the spine, or worse. A thorough examination is needed to determine what the cause of the pain is. Sometimes it’s a misalignment, sometimes it’s cancer, no joke. That is why I never guess with my patient’s health. I always do a neurological evaluation and x-ray exam to determine that 1) the spine is safe to adjust (i.e. no cancer, infections, fractures, etc.), and 2) if misaligned of subluxated, what bone and by what degree and in what direction.

Unfortunately, many practitioners, including other chiropractors will jump right to adjusting or manipulating the spine without taking a closer look. Often it works out, however the few horror cases you hear from people going to a chiropractor and getting hurt or making it worse, or just plain old just not working is almost certainly from negligence on the doctors behalf.

I believe it is our neurologically based upper cervical corrective care approach that helps so many people see such great results in such a short amount of time, as well as last for such a long time. I’m still constantly amazed at what the body is capable of doing in terms of healing and recovery from even the most chronic conditions.

If you are struggling with neck pain, try my Spinal Hygiene Videos out first, and if you still need my help or just want to have consultation to learn more about what we do and what may be causing your neck pain, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at info@koruchiropractic.com or by phone 720-593-9796