Many common office injuries involve musculoskeletal strains and sprains of the neck, back, hands and feet. With so many more people working from home over the past few years, the instances of people working without a proper workstation have increased dramatically. Compounded by an already low overall activity rate amongst adults, it’s no wonder we are seeing more and more office related injuries.
Office injuries are typically preventable with proper guidance and work place set-up. In this blog we look at the the presentation and causes of the most common types of office injuries. In addition, we will discuss the effects of ignoring these issues and our physiotherapy approach to rehabilitating office injuries.
Table of Contents
- Presentation of office injuries?
- Causes of office-related strains, sprains, and injuries
- Common types of office injury
- Risks associated with ignoring office injuries
- Physiotherapy approach to helping people with office injuries
Presentation of Office Injuries
An office injury can take many forms. Sometime called white-collar injuries, these injuries may be unsuspecting, insidious, and often “creep up” on a person with no specific traumatic event involved.
Office injuries can look very specific to an area of repeated use. Take for example the repetitive wrist and hand movement involved in keyboarding resulting in a carpal tunnel syndrome diagnosis. Office injuries can also be diffuse and widespread. For example, lumbar spine radiculopathy, which affects the entire low back and the lower extremities can be exacerbated by prolonged sitting and not changing positions enough.
Although office-related injuries may not have a specific incident leading to the issue, they can be a culmination of consistent and repetitive loads to areas of the body, even if the loads are small.
Causes of Office-related Strains, Sprains, and Injuries
A lot of office injuries, sprains, strains, aches, and soreness often stem from repetitive movements or prolonged positions. For example, sitting for prolonged periods at a desk without any breaks for standing or moving around, are often associated with sore necks, reports of spinal stiffness, achy shoulders, and overall decreased energy levels.
Although posture is important in a sitting and standing position, it’s important that we don’t assume this is the main culprit in the common office injuries such as low back strains. Prolonged and repetitive movements throughout the day are highly correlated with repetitive strain injuries.
In addition, we need to also consider changes in physical activity related to the job and changes in work set up (without proper instruction or guidelines) as possible reasons why someone may be experiencing physical issues in the office.
Common Types of Office Injury
Below is a list of common office injuries with brief descriptions of their mechanisms of action.
Lumbar strains: Sitting in uncomfortable positions and not moving our back/ bodies into a different position every 30-45 minutes may lead to low back soreness.
Neck strain and forward head posture: Looking at our screens intensely by lurching our necks/ heads forward puts unnecessary forces on our neck throughout the day. Prolonged forward head postures can place our deep neck flexors in a biomechanically weakened position leading to neck pain and stiffness.
Carpal tunnel injuries: Excessive typing, keyboard work, and mousing can contribute to compressed and irritable nerves along the carpal tunnel, leading to wrist and hand dysfunction. Learn more about carpal tunnel symptoms, causes and treatment.
“Upper-crossed syndrome”: Long periods of sitting or sedentary positions with screen time can be a contributory factor for upper-crossed syndrome. Upper-crossed syndrome is a highly debated cluster of observable features an office worker may demonstrate. These features may include shortened or weakened neck muscles from forward head posture, and rounded shoulder from constant typing. They can lend themselves to orthopaedic inefficiencies in posture.
Decreased circulation or swelling: Our bodies require the pumping action of our muscles to ensure fluids are circulated through our body. If we are consistently immobile, our body can struggle to bring fluids back to central circulation. One may experience swelling in the extremities (e.g., swollen feet/ankles) if seated for prolonged times without an opportunity to get up and walk.
Slips, trips and falls: Although less common in the white-collar workplace, these accidents still happen. Water on the floor of the kitchen, reaching overhead for something in a tall cabinet, or simply a misstep up or down a case of stairs can be the cause of this form of injury
You may also enjoy reading: Injury Prevention – Strategies to Prevent the Most Common Injuries
Risks Associated with Ignoring Common Office Injuries
Common office injuries are often ignored until the symptom(s) or dysfunction are severe enough to require formal assistance and intervention. Due to the gradual build up, these types of injuries may progress while being asymptomatic for many people.
If you suspect your work set-up may be influencing your physical health, it may be time to seek professional guidance. Clinically, the earlier a person addresses these injuries or the precursors to these injuries, the less likely it will become a chronic issue throughout the lifetime.
Physiotherapy Approach to Helping People with Office Injuries
Physiotherapists approach office related injuries with an ergonomic lens and a biomechanical understanding. This includes ensuring desk, chair, workstation set-up is optimized for human movement and providing physical guidelines for periodic movements throughout the day for injury prevention
Sometime, recommendations for specific pieces of office equipment, or accessories, would be made by the physiotherapist (e.g., ergonomic chair or standing desk). In addition, a physiotherapist will also tailor exercise programming to target a person’s areas that require additional strengthening or stretching.
Many physiotherapists will recommend a multi-disciplinary approach to ensure a person’s workspace is ideal for their productivity. Physiotherapists working alongside massage therapists, ergonomists, chiropractors, and exercise professionals work to analyze the everyday loads and demands placed on the person’s body.
At Propel Physiotherapy we provide a comprehensive assessment and treatment approach to office related injuries. Don’t let your everyday aches and pains go ignored. Come see us today to help you live and work pain-free.
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