Written by physiotherapist Pauline Newton:
Work is a critical part of most of our lives, for some decades, and often crossing a few industries. So, any injury, chronic condition, or niggles that develop, have the potential to change our productivity and sense of wellness.
Depending on the workplace, workstation set up and an interest in optimising this set-up from an employer perspective, can help sustain your capacity at work. But, amidst the broad ergonomic theory and research findings on how a workstation could be optimised, limiting musculoskeletal pain is not always directly linked to a poorly set up work station.
If you have an episodically painful condition for example I.e., recurrent low back pain, choosing different postures during the day is a good start, as is feeling supported by your employer if you disclose your injury to them (Gignac et al, 2020) or engaging in a workplace intervention that includes exercise, to prevent pain (Roman-Liu, Kaminska, Tokarski, 2020). In any work scenario, increased activity and associated behavioural change has to be retained long term for benefit.
Going digital has been for many the default working style of 2020. With returning to work or sustaining work when you have a history of back or knee pain, strong evidence points to successful outcomes (I.e., improved productivity, mood), by encouraging regular physical exercise, staying in contact electronically with employer/ health provider, sharing ergonomic ‘tips’ for working, addressing any pain catastrophising issues, and providing active coping strategies if pain flares (Bailey, Agarwal, Zheng et al 2020). Any intervention that is ‘multi-modal’ (with both mind and body engaged), appears to yield the better outcome for sustaining work.
Primarily, it is important to move, at and out of work. It is also vital to understand that as exceptional as the medical imaging we have these days is, in taking a snapshot of our bodies, often when in pain, many musculoskeletal disorders/ symptoms do not correlate to a certain magnitude of damage, if damage at all, anatomically, and every person is different in their response to an intervention. In fact, normally, the spine will change with age, and many times, it is asymptomatic (Tao Galbusera and Niemeyer, 2020) which also calls into question whether certain surgeries are indeed necessary (Harris, Dantanarayana and Naylor, 2012) to eliminate spinal pain and help sustain work.
Discussing your condition with a therapist or appropriate health practitioner can help reconcile which approach is best for you.