{"id":14918,"date":"2020-06-01T11:38:58","date_gmt":"2020-06-01T18:38:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/?p=14918"},"modified":"2021-11-05T19:06:12","modified_gmt":"2021-11-05T19:06:12","slug":"stretches-for-at-home-workers-during-covid-19-and-beyond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/?p=14918","title":{"rendered":"Stretches for At-Home Workers During COVID-19 and Beyond"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In March 2020, millions of Canadians transitioned to working from home as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic but most people do not have access to \u2018ergonomic\u2019 (i.e. comfortable and efficient) office equipment in their homes. Many individuals, including people with arthritis, have been working from their bed, couch or kitchen table and have experienced additional joint pain and aches as a result. Fortunately, there are certain stretches and exercises that can tend to these pains and help prevent additional musculoskeletal issues down the road! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Worker-Stretches-1024x682.jpeg\" alt=\"Woman in bed working on her laptop\" class=\"wp-image-15733 lazyload\"\/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Worker-Stretches-1024x682.jpeg\" alt=\"Woman in bed working on her laptop\" class=\"wp-image-15733 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Worker-Stretches-1024x682.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Worker-Stretches-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Worker-Stretches-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Worker-Stretches-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Worker-Stretches.jpeg 1880w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/noscript><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In\na recent article from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/05\/19\/well\/three-stretches-to-tend-to-the-aches-and-pains-of-working-from-home.html\">New\nYork Times<\/a>,\nDr. Nancy Black, specialist in ergonomics from Universit\u00e9 de Moncton in New\nBrunswick recommended the following for people working from home:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Microbreaks for movement every 40 minutes. <\/strong>Dr. Black emphasizes that even just 20 to 30 seconds of moving around can make a difference, such as walking to your kitchen, the bathroom or even just standing up from your desk and stretching where you are. <\/li><li><strong>Stretch for back and chest.<\/strong> \u201cClasping your hands behind your head, squeeze your shoulder blades together. Hold this squeeze for 5-6 seconds. Take a breath, then repeat one more time.\u201d<\/li><li><strong>The shoulder shrug. \u201c<\/strong>Shrug your shoulders by bringing them up toward your ears and holding for 3-5 seconds. Release and repeat 3-5 times.\u201d  <\/li><li><strong>Wrist Flexor and Extensor Stretches*.&nbsp; <\/strong>\u201cStand with one arm out in front of you and your palm facing the ground. With your other hand, gently pull your fingers of the outstretched arm back. You should feel the stretch in the underside of your wrist. Hold for a moment or two, then release. Next, keeping your arm straight, use your other hand to push your fingers and palm down and toward your body. Hold a few seconds, then release. Repeat with your other arm.\u201d <strong>*<\/strong>This last stretch may be difficult for some people with arthritis. If it feels painful, please stop the stretch and see below for other stretches. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Presentation1-1-1024x224.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14923 lazyload\" width=\"699\" height=\"152\"\/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Presentation1-1-1024x224.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14923 lazyload\" width=\"699\" height=\"152\"\/><\/noscript><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Michelle\nBridge, occupational therapist at Arthritis Society was recently interviewed by\nArthritis Consumer Experts (ACE) for their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=eRc8QUUC5nk&amp;list=PL0z4nDWdbAFhdzvuqfEHtYlowFufmC2-6&amp;index=7&amp;t=941s\">#ArthritisAtHome\nprogram<\/a>.\nLike Dr. Black, Michelle also underlined the importance of frequent movement\nand regular stretching during the workday. Michelle recommended that viewers\nimplement stretches featured on Arthritis Society\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/arthritis.ca\/getmedia\/4b72d442-8644-4aaa-8adb-51b3041ad4ac\/EN-top-10-exercises_Generic.pdf\">\u2018Top\n10 Exercises infographic\u2019<\/a>. Many of these can even be done while sitting at your desk.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Have\nyou been asked to return to the workplace during the COVID-19 pandemic? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If\nyou have questions about your rights and obligations for returning to work, or want\nto know about measures you can take to protect yourself from COVID-19 in the\nworkplace, watch the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=iwhHrns1iZU&amp;list=PL0z4nDWdbAFhdzvuqfEHtYlowFufmC2-6\">most\nrecent episode of #ArthritisAtHome with Dr. Diane Lacaille<\/a>, Associate\nScientific Director of Arthritis Research Canada on returning to work and\nhealth concerns for people with arthritis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In March 2020, millions of Canadians transitioned to working from home as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic but most people do not have access&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15735,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,30,5,6,9],"tags":[91,50,79,137,102,118],"class_list":["post-14918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-en","category-life","category-most-popular","category-news","category-whats-on-abn-en","tag-arthritisathome","tag-arthritis","tag-covid-19","tag-stretching","tag-work-and-arthritis","tag-workathome"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14918"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14918\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15808,"href":"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14918\/revisions\/15808"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}