What Are the Causes of Office Syndrome? Which Are the Best Treatments for Office Syndrome and Five Ways to Prevent Office Syndrome.
Do you ever wonder why you are constantly getting annoying back pain, neck pain or even shoulder pain? And no matter how many times you go to see a chiropractor, or a physiotherapist it keeps coming back? Would you believe it if we were to tell you that so many of us, unknowingly, are damaging our health continuously through long office hours or spending most part of the day slouching over our laptops/computers while working from home, resulting in these annoying constant body pains and possible future health complications. All of which are a common symptom of what we call Office Syndrome. While preventing office syndrome is, of course, the best solution, many of us do need to first treat it and then prevent ourselves from future relapses. By understanding what causes office syndrome, it becomes much easier to prevent it as well as avoid getting relapse after treatment.
So without further delay, let’s jump right in and see what are the causes of office syndrome, how you can prevent it, and what would be the best treatments for office syndrome if you do have it.
What Causes Office Syndrome?
The cause of office syndrome comes from none other than sitting all day in front of a computer. Although many of us think that physical labor would be harder on the body than sitting down all day, you’ll be surprised to learn that a sedentary lifestyle can actually affect your health immensely. The problem with sitting all day, with no breaks to walk around, stimulate movement in your body and stretch, is an obvious one. You’re simply not moving your body enough, instead you are continuously doing the same repetitive motion for long periods of time. Resulting in neck pain, lower back pain, carpal tunnel and musculoskeletal disorders.
SITTING & STARING A SCREEN FOR TOO LONG
Sitting at a desk, using a keyboard and mouse, staring at a computer screen which is invariably badly situated; none of these are natural positions for us to put ourselves in. We sit still, with the exception of the use of the same limited muscles over and over again, repeating small movements, and hunch ourselves, slouching our shoulders into an unnatural posture. This is the main cause of Office Syndrome, it results in poor core strength due to the constant contraction of muscles which would not usually be used. This has a knock-on effect for the rest of our body. It is compounded by stress and poor sleeping habits.
POOR POSTURE
Some of the major contributors to Office Syndrome are poor posture, an unsuitable work environment, stress, a bad diet and lack of exercise. Sitting at a desk with your back hunched, or sitting cross-legged, or staring at a badly positioned screen with no intermission to stretch or move, causes bad posture. Work environments are standard, however, people are not. Your sitting position at your desk will invariably not have been tailored to your specific requirements, your screen will not be at eye level, your desk will be too high or too low, your chair unsupporting.
Also the modern office environment is often a stressful place, with high workloads, high output expectations and an often toxic work environment. This leads to stress and anxiety which has a negative effect on our bodies.
Being so busy we often have little time to pay our diet due consideration, often relying on snacks, fast food and a generally unhealthy diet. Our time constraints also leave little time for exercise, with many of us spending long hours in the office and commuting to and from work.
All of this sounds very depressing but, as with many other illnesses, Office Syndrome is not incurable and, with work, its effects can be reversed.
How Do You Know Whether or Not You Have Office Syndrome?
How do you know whether you have office syndrome? Here is a list of a few office syndrome symptoms that you can look out for, and if you do have any of these symptoms please make sure to get it treated (not with temporary methods but with treatments from the route of the issue because office syndrome, when left untreated or not treated properly, can lead to serious back problems, such as slipped or even ruptured disks.
- Regular neck pains.
- Uncomfortable shoulder pains.
- Regular headaches.
- Abdominal pain/discomfort.
- Back/Hip stiffness.
- Numbness in your fingers, hands or arms from time to time.
- Wrist and finger pain.
- Constantly feeling fatigue or low on energy.
Can You Prevent Office Syndrome? And How Can You Prevent It?
The best thing you can do for your body is to make sure you don’t get them in the first place. And there are a number of ways you can do to prevent getting office syndrome, below we will guide you through the 10 different things you can do to help prevent getting office syndrome.
- It is essential that your computer screen, keyboard and mouse are correctly placed. This means having them directly in front of you on your desk, so that your arms are supported, and having your keyboard and mouse a comfortable distance away from you so that you are not constantly cramped or overstretching. Your screen should be set at, or just below, your eyelevel. Lighting is also important; positioning yourself next to a window in order to receive natural light helps to regulate your body clock and normalize your sleep patterns, which in turn can reduce stress and increase your productivity.
- Good posture is of the utmost importance, however, it is often overlooked and sometimes difficult to achieve within the office environment. Your shoulders should be back, not hunched, your chin should be tucked in to help lengthen your spine and your thighs should be parallel to the floor.
- Using a chair with a back support can help your posture, sitting in the center of your chair without crossing your legs, which can lead to muscle and circulation issues, is important.
- Movement is essential, you should constantly change position in order to free up muscles and avoid prolonged strain.
- Take breaks from your seated position; get up, walk around, stretch a little. Getting into the habit of doing this regularly will help you to develop a more healthy office practice and greatly reduce your susceptibility to office syndrome.
What Are The Best Treatments For Office Syndrome?
When it comes to illness, no matter what it may be, as long as it is not caused by severe trauma or injuries, they are all treatable. It might not be as simple as a few short steps to carry out but a series of activities such as, diet, etc. to follow. And office syndrome is no exception.
The best treatment for office syndrome is through a sequencing technique that teaches us how to fix most of our physical problems such as pain, stiffness and weakness. Our methodology incorporates aspects of physiotherapy, osteopathy, stretching and strength training, it is also known as EVOS Sequencing. It is a world first within its field of body-active systems as it can be utilized across the board, from pensioners to pro-athletes, from the sick and injured to the healthy and active.
A system which can be used by literally anyone and will drastically reduce back, neck, hip and knee pain. As it releases tension from your body by opening up the ribcage, allowing the heart and lungs to expand. This flushes your lungs and body with oxygen. EVOS sequencing will also strengthen your nervous system by stimulating bone marrow to produce more blood cells, which are the epicenter of your immune system. By stimulating new blood cells with pressurization of the bone marrow, electrical current in the nervous system will increase to better allow your body to fight off disease and fatigue.
