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Active Healing Centre
Ways Massage Can Help Office Workers
It adds up
Many people who visit registered massage therapists (RMTs) have office jobs. Whether they work in an actual office, from home, or a mixture of both, they spend most of their days sitting at a computer, which can lead to various musculoskeletal concerns. Incorporating more movement into the regular working day can help prevent some of these injuries, but some office workers will still experience back, shoulder, neck and wrist pain. Many people associate work-related injuries with more physically demanding jobs, but work-related injuries can be a big burden for office workers. This article outlines five ways that RMTs can help office workers with work-related injuries.
- Relieve neck pain
Neck pain is one of the most commonly reported types of pain in office workers, especially when they don’t consider the ergonomic set up of their workstation. Neck pain is even more common when office workers spend 4-6 hours of the workday on a computer. Massage therapy can help relieve neck pain and improve neck function. Specific stretches and strengthening exercises, which can be recommended by an RMT, have been shown to help office workers with neck pain lower their pain levels, reduce disability and improve quality of life. - Decrease back pain
Low-back pain is common in general, and one of the risk factors for developing low-back pain is sitting at a computer for a long time. Low-back pain a big contributor to absence from work and a common cause of disability. One thing that can help is changing postures regularly or even getting up and moving around. Exercise programs for office workers, which an RMT can recommend, can help decrease pain as well as improve flexibility and muscle strength. Regular massage therapy treatment can also help reduce back pain and improve physical function when people have back pain. - Treat carpal tunnel syndrome
Although more commonly associated with industrial jobs involving repetitive hand motions, carpal tunnel syndrome is also fairly common among office workers. In office workers, carpal tunnel syndrome can be associated with repetitive use of a computer keyboard or mouse, especially in less comfortable postures. Massage therapy treatment, especially combined with stretching that can be recommended by an RMT, can help people with carpal tunnel syndrome relieve their pain. Massage therapy can also help people with carpal tunnel syndrome improve their hand function and relieve other symptoms like numbness and tingling. - Reduce should pain
Many office workers also experience shoulder pain especially when they spend a lot of their day on the computer. Like other work-related musculoskeletal disorders, spending too long without moving increases the risk. Massage therapy treatment can help people reduce their shoulder pain, especially immediately after treatment, though there can also be long-term relief. Massage therapy can also help improve shoulder range of motion and allow people to go back to their regular activities more quickly. - Keep moving
Prolonged sitting is associated with an increased risk of musculoskeletal pain. Many office workers spend a lot of their workday sitting, which can lead to muscle strain and tension as well as musculoskeletal pain and injury. When workers consciously try to reduce their sitting time, their pain often decreases. By adding movement into your workday, including exercises that can be recommended by an RMT, you can help treat and prevent musculoskeletal pain. If you are experiencing work-related pain, you can visit an RMT who can help you find some relief.