Working from home aches and pains

Most office workers will have an adequate in the office due to compulsory DSE (Display Screen Equipment) checks. However, many of the DSE checks have not carried forward to the home set up and many are working with basic dining chairs and full-time laptop use which is certainly not ideal.

These are my tips for helping your home office space to be kind to your joints:

1. If you are to be a permanent / semi-permanent home worker you need to ask for a DSE assessment for home set up- ask your HR department at work ( if you have one!). Here is a link for further information: https://www.hse.gov.uk/msd/dse/home-working.htm
   
   
2. Chair is essential! If you have space, please try to have an office chair. If you do not have the space for a bulky office chair, Ikea do some good chairs that do not take up as much space. They are certainly better than a dining chair – I have similar to these at my home for my teenagers and I feel they give good support for size and price https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/flintan-office-chair-with-armrests-black-s49424470/
   
   
3. Add a lumbar Support. We recommend a McKenzie “D” roll and sell them at the clinic for £16 (current price as of 30/11/21)
   
   
4. If using laptop, ensure you have external keyboard and mouse– these can easily be purchased on Amazon as a package. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Logitech-Wireless-Keyboard-Windows-Connection/dp/B00CL6353A/ref=sxin_15_trr... or similar. You can also look at ergonomic mouses if you get a lot of upper arm pain but I would recommend seeing a Physio for assessment first.
   
   
5. Invest in a laptop stand (also good to find on Amazon) – these can be small fold up ones that can live in your laptop bag, but it ensures the laptop screen is up at eye level, similar to how a PC screen would be.
   https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kensington-Portable-Ergonomic-Cooling-SmartFit/dp/B0007YB8NM/ref=sr_1_16?ke... or similar
   
   
6. If you spend long periods on phone calls make sure you have a good headset to use.

   
   

7. Ensure your lighting is sufficient - you may need to add a lamp that can clip to your laptop screen to ensure your area is bright enough – you can also find these on Amazon, and they plug into your laptop to charge.

   
   
8. Regular breaks to change your posture – this does not mean a coffee every 20 mins but just stand up and walk around your room, take a phone call standing up. Just moving your joints from sitting to standing position can alleviate tension building up.
   
   
9. At lunchtime do try and take a 5-10 -minute walk around the block – your joints will be missing that walk from car to office so you must substitute it.
   

If you would like Lucy to fully assess and advise on your work from home set up we can organise a home visit or do via consultation at The Village Clinic using photos. Please call us 01242 673507 for further details