So once again we are in the midst of a lockdown in the continuing fight against COVID 19. Can you get Physio in lockdown?
At this time of year we would normally be helping patients get ready for ski holidays, early marathon training along with the normal range of back, neck, shoulder and knee injuries.
The good news for our patients is that we are still able to practice. Whilst we have adapted to the use of Zoom, Teams, Skype and videocalls, as physiotherapists we value the ability to see our patients face to face. This allows us to use all our skills, including palpation, to assess and treat our patients fully.
The ‘New Normal’ of working from home has been both positive and negative for many of us. It has definitely led to an increase in the number of patients attending with neck, shoulder and back issues. Lots of these problems are clearly related to sitting for long periods, in front of laptops, in poor postures whilst working from home.
The time of year and working from home also mean that general exercise levels are down for many of us. Some people are now not doing their daily commute. They are only walking from one room to another, without any real exercise such as walking to and from the train station. When combined with the dark nights reducing our ability to get out and do exercise, it means our step counts are way down. As the saying goes (maybe just for physios), ‘motion is lotion’ and sadly that isn’t happening for many people!
It is essential therefore for us all to get up from our workstations (kitchen table, lounge sofa….) regularly have a stretch and think of our posture. This is no substitute for changing position often no matter how good your workstation set up is. Think of you head balancing on your spine and how all the muscles work in conjunction to keep your head still to allow you to read, type or talk on camera. These muscles are prone to getting tight, over worked and really need stretching. This offloading of muscles can help prevent pain.
If you or anyone you know is suffering with neck, shoulder or back pain, please feel free to get in contact. We are more than happy to assess and advise patients remotely but for those seeking face to face sessions at Dorking , Leatherhead or Crawley, contact us here.
The practices and procedures we have put in place since June, mean we are confident that we can treat you in a COVID safe environment and maintain our normal high clinical standards. You can get Physio in lockdown!
Blog post written by GFJ, Head2Toe Physiotherapist and Director at Head2Toe Dorking, Leatherhead, & Crawley Clinics. If you are struggling with neck, shoulder or back pain,
