Football writers: How to avoid soft-tissue injury while working from home

Now that millions of football writers and fans  are working from home, they’re facing newfound problems that are naturally associated with sitting on the couch all day. While countless football writers are finding themselves capable of managing their professional responsibilities from home, they’re also discovering that caring for themselves while also working from home can be a difficult proposition. Soft-tissue injuries, in particular, pose a serious risk to those who sit at their computers all day.

Here are the primary tips you need to know about to avoid soft-tissue injuries while working from home.

It’s all about your posture

If you’ve been working from home for the past few weeks, you may already have noticed that you’ve developed chronic back pain, wrist aches, and other soft-tissue injuries. This is likely because your posture has been lacklustre; maintaining good posture while typing or sitting down all day is of the utmost importance if you want to avoid both short and long-term injuries which can impede your mobility and thwart your professional progress.

Luckily, the NHS has provided helpful guidelines which can be followed to ensure what soft-tissue injuries you do sustain can be healed quickly. According to the experts, you should be focused on five key recovery methods after suffering from a soft-tissue injury. First, protect the area from further injury by either binding your sprains or using crutches to keep the weight off harmed portions of your body. Next, ensure you get plenty of rest, though get up frequently to do occasional stretching. If you’re struggling with that, the American CDC has provided useful tips on stretching at work to help guide you.

Next, ice the afflicted area, though never expose your skin directly to ice. Instead, cover ice with a towel or cloth before applying it to the bruises or other soft-tissue injuries you’re attempting to remedy. Using compression bandages after icing can help reduce swelling and ease your pain. Finally, elevate injured limbs to ensure that blood doesn’t begin to clot internally.

Avoid sitting down all day

It cannot be stressed enough that sitting down all day is one of the primary causes of soft-tissue injuries in the UK. Writers should ensure they’re not sitting down for longer than an hour, at the max, before getting up to move around. Regular water and bathroom breaks, coupled with scheduled stretching exercises, can work wonders for your body.

Additionally, you should review the basics of good posture, as simple things like supporting your back can help you avoid working from home burnouts. Coupled with excellent posture,  knowing about the various soft tissue injury types you can suffer from will also help you avoid them ahead of time. While some people don’t take soft tissue injuries seriously, ignoring them can lead to long-term bruising and seriously reduce your mobility. It will also cause you pain, accruing unhealthy stress all the while. Keep these tips in mind, and you’ll be able to tolerate working from home for months on end without succumbing to soft tissue injuries.