How to avoid upper limb injuries while working from home

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 across the globe, many of us have been forced into a complete change of routine when it comes to our working life. Although working from home, for some, has its benefits, it also certainly has its fair share of drawbacks, as it can lead to muscle pain and various upper limb injuries, especially if we do not take a sufficient amount of breaks for ourselves.

In this informative article, expert consultant shoulder and upper limb surgeon, Mr Arvind Mohan, advises how those working from home can avoid upper limb injuries, and reveals what the most commonly reported upper limb injuries have been during the pandemic.

How can people working from home avoid upper limb injuries and muscle pain?

I think when this pandemic began, everything happened pretty much within a matter of a few days and we were not prepared for many things, in terms of how we would be working from home. I think that this has been the biggest challenge of this pandemic.

From home, people are working extended hours without taking normal breaks, which they would normally take if they were in an office setting. This has given many people a lot of problems, such as neck and shoulder problems, which are generally caused by bad positioning and not taking adequate breaks.

I always recommend my patients who present these symptoms to me to go back and look at their work desk and how they are working, because, as we have seen, we are now in this for the long haul. Thus, it is important that we invest the time and effort in making sure that our work desks are more ergonomic to prevent long-term upper limb injuries from occurring.

Why do people working from home suffer from these types of upper limb injuries?

It has a lot to do with how we position ourselves in front of the screen. If you engage in bad positioning for a long period of time, it will cause muscle strain, and that is what I am finding in my practice. Also, there has been a lot of stress associated with the pandemic, and put together, it has created a sort of perfect storm for these upper limb and muscle injuries to occur more easily and more frequently. 

How are upper limb injuries treated?

Treatment for most of these injuries is really focused on prevention in the first place. So, a lot of this would centre on looking at how we are working from home, making sure that our desks are in a proper position, and that our knees, elbows, and our hands are all rested on the table.

I think prevention is always better than cure, and that is the first thing that I tell my patients when they come to me with upper limb injury-related symptoms. With the majority of patients, if they just put those things right, and if they engage in a period of exercise to strengthen up those muscles, the problem will generally be resolved.

Very rarely, patients may require further imaging if their injury symptoms persist. In the majority of cases, though, these symptoms can be improved, but sometimes of course, patients can have overlapping symptoms, and that is why they usually come in to my practice. These are the patients that may need further investigations.

What is/has been the most commonly reported upper limb condition reported by patients working from home during the pandemic?

This has been a bit variable in terms of presentations. A significant number of patients that I have seen have presented a lot of spasm and discomfort around the neck. I have also seen quite a few patients with shoulder discomfort, and of course a lot of this is to do with their positioning.

Many patients have also come in to see me with a lot of hand and wrist problems. Interestingly, I have seen an increase in the use of e-gaming, due to the pandemic forcing us to stay at home more than we were used to. This has definitely been quite a unique thing to see because I had not seen this very much before the pandemic.

What I would say is that we are seeing a lot of variation when it comes to upper limb problems, from shoulder and neck problems, to hand and wrist problems, both heavily due to the pandemic. My advice is pretty standard for both scenarios: try to get plenty of exercise, especially stretching exercises after spending a lot of time indoors working or e-gaming.

For people working from home, what is the ideal daily routine that one can adopt to properly take care of their upper limb area?

I think the important thing with prevention would be to build it into your routine. So, first and foremost, I would encourage them to create a good, ergonomic workspace, and to really evaluate if their current workspace is appropriate enough.

Then, once they have done those things, the most important thing is to take regular breaks, and I think that is where the problems sometimes originate from. It’s very important to put those gentle reminders in your work schedule, that after every hour, you should take a little break, even if it just means stretching yourself, because these gentle, little exercises are crucial when it comes to preventing long-term upper limb injuries.

Dr Arvind Mohan is a highly experienced and skilled consultant shoulder and upper limb surgeon who specialises in shoulder-related problems, amongst others. Consult with him directly today via his Top Doctors profile.