KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiropractors in the Kansas City area and across the country said they’re seeing the COVID-19 pandemic affect their patients.
Dr. Myron Schmidt of Schmidt Chiropractic Clinic in Overland Park, Kansas, said stress oftentimes manifests in the shoulders and necks of his clients. Stress combined with new, less ergonomic at-home offices has resulted in more patients with neck pain and suffering from headaches.
“Sometimes the tension in those muscles can pull their neck or back out of place. If you have the muscle pull not the same on one side or the other, it’ll affect the neck and cause headaches,” Schmidt explained. “We do a lot of therapy here in the office to line those things up and get the muscles to relax.”
Schmidt helped 41 Action News put together a Rebound Rundown with key takeaways to help you manage the stress:
- Consider buying an office chair and/or desk to use at home. Schmidt said a lot of people held off on this purchase thinking they’d only be at home for a short period, but now many clients are realizing they’ll be working from home for longer periods of time.
- Consider using a pillow to support your lower back if you feel pain in that area.
- Place your computer screen at eye-level so your neck doesn’t have to bend to look at the screen.
- Position your computer mouse close to your body so you’re not reaching for it.
- Get up and move every 20 minutes and consider setting an alarm to remind you.
- Stretch your muscles.
- Consider massage therapy to loosen tight muscles.
- Consider visiting a chiropractor if pain and headaches persist.
—
The Rebound Kansas City is our effort is to help metro residents play a role in moving our community forward. We would love to hear your thoughts and ideas to via email to rebound@kshb.com and we welcome you to join in the conversation on the Rebound KC Facebook Group.
Whether you're Getting Back to Work after a layoff, need help Making Ends Meet during these trying times or need tips on Managing the Pressure we're all feeling, The Rebound has resources to find help. We'll also make sure local leaders are Doing What's Right to get Kansas City back track after a three-month shutdown.
Need a job? Be sure to visit our local jobs board powered by Indeed.