Working safely at home

Working Safely From Home

Working safely at home

As an experienced Chartered Physiotherapist with a specialist interest in upper limb disorders and ergonomics our Clinical Director, Martine Cooper, is passionate about avoiding injury whilst working.

Human beings evolved over hundreds of thousands of years to be mobile, originally as hunter-gatherers. Nowadays, sedentary and desk-bound lifestyles are causing havoc with our bodies.

“Long-term home working is starting to create aches and pains related to temporary workstation set-ups” says Martine. “Now is the time to pay more attention to how you are working.”

It’s important to say that if you are feeling persistent discomfort related to sitting at your desk, you need to ask for help before you cause long-term damage. Whether that’s your employer, a Physiotherapist or any other clinician, the most important thing is the age-old saying that “prevention is better than cure”.

Our team have put together a detailed guide on how to set up your workstation, which should help you to look at your workstation, assess any risks and identify helpful actions, like any necessary adjustments. Just read our guide on setting up your workstation for more information.

Martine likes to say that “the best posture is the next posture”, which means keep moving and be away from your desk at least five minutes every hour. Make sure you do some stretching and avoid awkward static postures by regularly changing your position. Our free exercise at your desk guide offers more advice.

Our team of expert Physiotherapists are at hand to provide remote support and in-clinic care (in our COVID secure environment) if ever needed.

We’re also pleased to be able to provide remote workstation assessments for businesses. Please just ask if you’d like any more information.

Useful information:

HSE guidelines

Setting up your workstation

Essential infographic

Posted in Ergonomics.