Homeworking is back-breaking work, says Lisburn based therapist

The kitchen table has become our new office and let’s be honest, it’s not exactly supporting our best posture.

At our normal work stations we have ergonomic lumbar support chairs, desktop computers and scheduled breaks, however at home we are working longer, less conventional hours, whilst staring downwards at our laptops – all of which are not great for our necks.

Add to this our tedious home workout routines, that help prevent us going completely mad… BUT have now taken their toll on our bodies.

My name is Paul Prentice and I am the proud owner of Prentice Sports Therapy, a therapy and wellbeing clinic based in the Lisburn Enterprise Organisation.

For almost 20 years I have been applying my skills and working at the highest levels all over the world – spending 12 years as the Senior Sports Therapist for the Irish FA.

I have also been fortunate to work with a wide variety of professionals such as, Carl ‘The Jackal’ Frampton, Miss World and I was the official therapist for Game of Thrones; along with other HBO productions, including Daniel Craig’s stunt artist in James Bond.

My Lisburn clinic not only provides services to elite athletes, but serves our local community as well as clients form all over the province to help with their musculoskeletal pains.

We offer a number of treatment modalities to suit every lifestyle including Specialised Functional Integrated Dry Needling (F.I.D.N.), pain management and sports therapy.

Every two weeks I will be publishing an article to provide information that supports your physical health and wellbeing, home-help tips and tricks and most importantly, giving guidance on ways to minimise the risk of injury and keep you fit and able to accomplish the physical challenges you set yourself.

One of the most common issues I have been facing in the clinic this past 12 months is upper back and neck pain.

As previously mentioned, this is likely linked to the poor posture ‘homeworking’ has thrust upon us.

When we sit looking downward towards our laptops, phones and tablets, we put our cervical vertebrae (neck) in a flexed state for prolonged periods.

This can cause joint irritation and muscle tension in the neck/ upper back, resulting in pain, restricted range of motion and headaches. There are a number of things we can do to help prevent these issues arising.

• Set your phone timer to alert you every 45-60 minutes, then get up from your seated position, walk about and even take a drink of water to stay hydrated.

• Perform basic neck stretches periodically throughout the day, holding each stretch for 25 seconds.

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