Baton Rouge Physical Therapy Lake offers free virtual checkups of your home workspace

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Turns out, working from home isn’t all that comfortable.

Lenovo, a technology company, published a study that shows 71% of remote workers complain of new or worsening aches and pains since working from home.

In an effort to combat those issues, Baton Rouge Physical Therapy Lake now offers free virtual checkups of your home office. A physical therapist will connect with you to evaluate your home workspace.

WAFB’s Amanda Kitch volunteered her at-home workspace to be evaluated and she learned she has some room for improvement.

“That’s a horrible workstation,” said Seth Kaplan after taking one look at Kitch’s desk.

Kaplan has been a physical therapist for over 30 years and is the president and CEO of Baton Rouge Physical Therapy. He says his staff has seen an increase in posture-related complaints since the pandemic began.

“We’re seeing more and more people that are having issues now with sustained positions… neck pain, shoulder pain, wrist pain,” he said.

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With so many poor work from home setups, Kaplan is afraid these pains are going to be a long-term effect when the pandemic is over, even for kids.

“I fear that we’re setting our kids up for some of that stuff by not getting them engaged with activity throughout the day,” said Kaplan.

Kaplan says movement is one of the most important things to add into your workday. He recommends you get up to move every 30 minutes to an hour.

Incorporating exercises like shoulder rolls and stretches help as well.

Next, Kaplan says Kitch needs to rearrange some things on her desk to put her posture in a better position. They start with the mouse and keyboard.

“You don’t want your mouse reaching over here, to be far forward like this. It puts a lot of strain on your arm,” said the physical therapist.

Kaplan says you want your mouse and keyboard closer to your body and your wrists in a neutral position.

Then comes the computer monitor.

“Your computer monitor is pretty low compared to where you are in space, so you’re at a constant downward gaze,” he said.

A ream of paper, a box, or a stack of books work to lift your monitor up and set your gaze higher to limit neck pain.

Kaplan says feet should be flat on the floor, not crossed or curled up.

“It would be great if you could scoot the chair closer, but I see you have arm rests that may prevent you from getting much closer, but that looks better right there!” he said.

With some adjustments, Kaplan and his team hope to steer you into a more comfortable and healthy work from home situation.

You can sign up for the free work from home survival kit and make an appointment now here.

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