I knew office work was bad for me, but what a dramatic illustration.
Sitting at a desk in an office chair is basically the devil, as far as my body is concerned :-/ All pain all the time.
R'amen!
Sorry about your migraine. I can see how it might be difficult to build a PT (or other) habit when the repetition gets interrupted randomly by a higher priority health/self care situation.
@Malcat that sounds like magic, the good kind. Will you come to my house and custom design a workstation for me? 😉 Any tips for best using a sit stand desk?* I also fight against military neck. Imagine it must be ubiquitous in the developed world, with our high usage of phones and other screens.
* @philli14 is that something you can comment on?
Absolutely - the majority of patients with headache, neck pain and upper back pain that I work with have a job or lifestyle that includes prolonged sitting.
Ergonomically optimized or not, as humans it's not likely that we're designed or optimized for inertia. An "ideal posture" is something that is (rightfully) being less and less focused on, as our tissues are designed for movement, and require dynamic, multidirectional stress in order to function properly. Same goes for hormonal processes and cardiovascular function.
How best to mitigate the effects of inertia, accepting that some of us are in jobs that necessitate it?
1. Behavioral modifications - dynamic movements throughout the work day, breaking up periods of inertia as often as is feasible. Look to your PT for movements that may be specific to your impairments, and don't aggravate symptoms.
2. Work out hard and heavy when you're not - theres some evidence for "simple" aerobic exercise being able to mitigate many of the negative effects from prolonged sitting. My bias is also towards heavy resistance strengthening - this may or may not be appropriate for you if you are already in pain, but that should always be the final goal, and is a good strategy for reducing the likelihood of future pain.
3. Change postures when possible - whether thats working from standing vs. sitting, switching mouse position, changing monitor height, etc. Variation tends to be helpful.
4. Don't neglect the other things you know are good for you - eating well, sleeping. I prioritize sleep hygiene with all of my patients, regardless of what they're coming in for. If you want to know more, read "Why we Sleep" by Matthew Walker.
5. Be as ergonomic as possible - ergonomic modifications will reduce the repetitive load/strain on X tissue, but there will always be a breaking point. Would you expect to be able to do a repetitive movement or position forever if it was "ergonomically optimized"? No - it will just take longer to get to the breaking point. Having more resilient tissue will also move that marker further back (this is where exercise, strength and endurance work plays a part).
Hope that's helpful in some way.
