A Chiropractors survival guide to self isolation
If you find yourself stuck at home or working from home due to self-isolation, it’s imperative you keep your body moving to help prevent muscle atrophy, de-conditioning, stiffness, soreness and various pain syndromes.
Here are 10 ways to help you if you are self-isolating:
1.) Ergonomic Set Up
If you are still working from home, make sure you have a great ergonomic desk setup! Doing things like:
- Lifting your monitor to eye level can help take strain off your neck.
- Lifting your chair slightly, so your hips sit slightly higher than your knees helps take strain off your lower back.
- Placing a small pillow in the small of your low back, can help provide low back support.
- Keeping your keyboard & mouse close to you can help decrease shoulder strain.
- Try keep your shoulders square and not rounded forwards to minimise neck and shoulder strain.
- Try keep your head in line with your trunk and not jutting forward to minimise neck strain.
*Youtube has some great free guidance on ergonomic desk setups, check it out!
2.) Netflix and other streaming services
Make sure to limit your Netflix and Tv watching each day to something reasonable and sustainable. Something like 2-3 hours should be enough. Bonus points if you can spread this out throughout the day! Make sure you have a healthy posture on the couch and try have regular breaks, which involve walking for 2 minutes for every 30 minutes of sitting.
3.) Walk Daily and getting your steps up
We should all be aiming for at least 6,000 steps a day, with an ideal target being 10,000 steps a day. Try finding a way to get this in each day if you can. If you have a dog or kids it’s a great excuse to get outside the house. Just make sure to appropriately social distance from people outside of your household. Walking can help keep your heart and lungs healthy, along with improving your mental health.
4.) Keep doing your workouts
If you were an active person or gym goer, being creative and trying to keep up with your workouts can be a great mental health boost. Try using household items as weights, such as a backpack loaded with whatever you want to add weight appropriate to you. The sky is the limit, get creative and tag your favourite gym in your workout to keep others motivated.
5.) Perfect time to work on your injuries
If you have suffered an injury and are currently following a rehabilitative plan from your Chiropractor, then now is the perfect time to really focus on that and get back to fighting fit. Focusing on your weaknesses and building back up your body for when the virus restrictions are lifted is a great way minimise your pain and minimise future injury risk.
6.) Make time for Mobility Work
If we spend all day sitting around, we are going to start to develop stiffness and rigidity in our joints, ligaments, muscles and tendons. On top of general movement like walking, it’s also a great time to focus on general stretching, foam rolling and other dedicated mobility work. Throw that yoga mat on the ground in a dedicated area, so it’s ready to go when you are!
7.) Spend time working on your property
If you’re looking for a great way to keep physically and mentally active, maybe now is a great chance to get around to those jobs you have been putting off! Been thinking of painting your house? Re-doing the garden? Doing some repairs on the fence? Now is the time to get started!
8.) Get some much needed Sleep
With less work and demands on our time, it’s possible you may be able to get to bed a bit earlier or sleep in a bit longer. Try aim for between 7-9 hours of sleep per night. Good quality sleep can help us better manage stress and keep our immune system at its best. Try winding down from phones, computers etc, at least 1 hour before bed. Aim for a cool, dark environment for a great sleep.
9.) Manage your Mental Health
Now more than ever, we need to be calm and in control of our thoughts and emotions. Make sure to keep in contact with loved ones daily via a host of digital ways, from facebook, instagram, whatsapp and more. Meditation can also be a fantastic way to manage stress and keep in control; try Headspace - a great app designed for beginners.
10.) Keep positive and find ways to have fun
Keep your spirits up by finding new ways to have fun. Try an old board game, or a game of chess. Start reading that book your wanted to get around to. Do you have a pool table, darts or a ping pong table; dust it off and have a few laughs with family to keep active.
Laguna Bay Chiropractic remains OPEN as an essential service for our community throughout the current situation. If you need us we will be here – (07) 5474 1473