Five tips on homeworking from a leading Market Harborough health professional

It’s vital that people forced to work at home during the Covid-19 emergency do so properly, a leading Market Harborough health professional is urging.

Chris Stankiewicz, 30, is advising people throughout the district how to set up their new home office amid the coronavirus lockdown.

The top sports therapist has now spoken at length to the Harborough Mail as he steps up his one-man mission to help get people through this shattering crisis.

Chris, who runs The Injury Clinic in King’s Head Place, Harborough, said: “People all over the country are having to hastily improvise working at home after this lockdown has been imposed.

“Space can often be a problem so it’s vital that workers set up their new home office as well as they can.

“Many won’t have worked from home before so it’s paramount that they get the best guidance and insight.”

The dad-of-one added: “It’s crucial that you get your posture right when you are tapping away at your computer, laptop or tablet.

“This emergency could well go on for some time yet.

“So it’s all important that you don’t suffer back, shoulder or any other physical issues while you are working at home for the next few weeks.

“And the NHS is going to be far too busy to be able to treat you for the foreseeable future so let’s try to get it right straight away.”

Chris, who has also looked after the players at Market Harborough Rugby Union Football Club for several years, has drawn up a string of top tips for workers now operating at home.

They are:

1. Rethink your laptop and tablet.

Laptops and tablets are convenient but may not be your best option when working at home.

They are not suitable for long periods of work because it’s near impossible to get the correct set-up for your posture.

Where possible, use a desktop computer or a separate monitor.

But if you are using a laptop you can snap up an external keyboard for as little at £9.99 so you can put the laptop at comfortable monitor height and your new keyboard at a comfortable, easy to reach distance.

2. Get you angles right.

The classic ergonomic diagram showing your spine straight and knees and elbows bent at 90-degree angles is a good benchmark position to aim for while working and setting up your new desk or kitchen table.

Keep key objects such as your mouse and keyboard phone close to your body to minimise the need to reach.

Stand up to reach anything that isn’t within a comfortable reaching distance while sitting. Overreaching is one of the common reasons for injury we see within the clinic.

Another tip I regularly give to those looking to optimise their workspace for better posture is to aim to get your stomach as close to the desk as possible.

3. Monitor your screen position.

Your monitor should be at a height that you can look at with your neck straight, not bent. Recommendations suggest placing the monitor directly in front of you, about an arm’s length away with the top of the screen at or slightly below eye level.

With modern computer screens being so compact, for most people this means you will need to elevate the monitor.

You could invest in a monitor raiser.

However, a stack of cookbooks or that isolation reading list you’ve been meaning to make your way through would achieve the same effect.

Most people are familiar with having their screen at eye level.

But one of the biggest mistakes people make when it comes to screen placement, particularly if pushed for space, is having the monitor off set to one side.

Long periods of working on a screen that is offset is a surefire way to develop neck and shoulder pain.

If your work requires you to work from two monitors then ensure the primary screen you work from is set up directly in front of you.

4. Get your head set.

Now we’re not talking strictly head position here as per the previous tip.

If your work requires you to frequently talk on the phone and type at the same time, leading you to become the ‘office contortionist’ to cradle the phone between your head and neck, I’d strongly recommend putting your phone on speaker or better still using a headset.

5. Get up, walk about.

We can talk as much about the ‘correct’ posture as we like but the fact is, no one posture is a ‘good’ posture if we spend too much time in it.

Even with the most optimal desk set up, the most important thing is not to sit for long uninterrupted periods.

Make sure you get up and move around at least every half hour or so.

Set a 30-minute timer if you have to.

It can also help to spend the occasional half-hour working while standing.

Now I’m not suggesting that you splash out and join the standing desk craze.

Simply use household objects to raise your laptop, monitor and keyboard to a height that allows you to stand for a period while working – this is where that pile of Amazon delivery boxes could come in handy!

If you would like to find out more about The Injury Clinic then visit their website here: https://theinjuryclinicmarketharborough.co.uk/