Safely Seeing Your Chiropractor During the Pandemic (Including At-Home Tips)

Available for Interviews: Dr. Michael Evangel

Dr. Michael S. Evangel, Chiropractic Physician, is the owner of the Chiropractic Wellness Center in Paramus, NJ. For over 30 years, his mission is to provide state of the art, high-quality care to people of all ages. 

Talking Points from Dr. Micheal Evangel on 
How to Safely See Your Chiropractor During the Pandemic:

People can especially benefit from chiropractic care during the COVID-19 pandemic! Chiropractic adjustments are a great stress reducer and can also bolster immunity. Your chiropractor can also advise you how to avoid your chances of coming in contact with COVID-19.  On top of that, your chiropractor can make suggestions about how lifestyle modifications, certain food choices and supplements can further enhance your immunity.

Healthcare workers could especially benefit by receiving chiropractic care at this time. They are currently under a tremendous amount of both physical and emotional stress. They are working long hours and could greatly benefit from anything that would strengthen their immune system.

Telemedicine can also allow patients to communicate and get advice from their chiropractors without leaving their homes. Many insurance companies are approving telemedicine services to be performed with no out of pocket expense to the patient. Unfortunately Medicare doesn’t pay for telemedicine with a chiropractor.

To provide a safer treatment environment

  • The chiropractor should be disinfecting all surfaces that patients come in contact with after every patient.
  • Only one patient should be allowed in the office at a time.
  • The chiropractor should be wearing a good quality mask such as an N95 and ideally the patients should also be wearing a procedural mask.

ergonomic problems

In addition to all of the added stress that is being caused by this pandemic. Working from home from your phone, tablet or laptop and not using proper body mechanics can lead to repetitive stress disorders. Proper in home workstation design is important.

Poor ergonomics can cause: Poor posture, Reduced job satisfaction, Reduced productivity/increased errors, Muscular tightness in the shoulders and/or neck, Arm fatigue, Low back pain, Eyestrain, Headaches, Other related stress, such as fatigue and tension related disorders, Distraction from work due to pain, Repetitive strain injuries or cumulative trauma disorders such as carpal tunnel syndrome and/or tendonitis. In general, standing desks are great and ergonomically designed chairs with a low back support is preferable. 

ergonomic solutions

Here are some tips for home as well as office workstations: 

Try to do the following:

  1. Try not to talk on the phone with the receiver pinched between the head and the shoulder. Use a shoulder phone rest to reduce the severity of this repetitive trauma or use a headset.
  2. Adjust your sitting surface just below the bottom of the kneecaps, so the thighs will be parallel to the floor.
  3. You should then sit up straight, with your ankles, knees and hips all at 90 degree or right angles.

  Upper Body Ergonomics

  1. Armrests should be slightly below the level of the elbows while sitting in the upright position with the shoulders relaxed.
  2. Keyboard height should be 3-5 cm. below elbow height.
  3. The wrists should always be in the neutral position if working for extended periods, not flexed or extended.  Wrist supports or palm rests may be needed. Watches or bracelets can cause problems if they are pressed against the wrist at points of contact.

  Lower Body

  1. Both feet should be flat on the floor.
  2. Slouching, leg crossing and sitting on ankles should be avoided.
  3. Move around in your chair.  Do not stay still. Get up 5 minutes every hour and walk around.  Taking a break actually increases productivity.
  4. Try to stare out a window at a far away object for about 10 seconds every 15 minutes or so when working at a monitor.  This will reduce eyestrain. 
  5. Your monitor should be directly in front of you with the top of the monitor slightly below eye level.  A downward head tilt of 29 degrees is considered average. For minimum eyestrain, the distance a monitor should be from your eyes is 31.5 inches.  The monitor should be tilted to be perpendicular to your line of vision.
  6. Blue screen filters are useful for reducing eye strain.
  7. If a copyholder is needed, it should be placed next to the monitor.
  8. Your workstation light level should be 100-foot candles of full spectrum lighting for maximum efficiency and minimum eyestrain.  This is optimum for reading text on a monitor, keyboard recognition as well as for reading written or printed material.
  9. When reading, the reading material should be tilted upward between 20-45 degrees.
  10. Try to take a minimum of a 5 minute break every hour to get up and walk around. This will increase circulation to your legs and actually increase productivity. Doing a dew pushups or other physical activity may also be good, but may not be appropriate in certain work environments.

 

Interview: Dr. Michael Evangel

Dr. Michael S. Evangel owner of Chiropractic Wellness Center. His practice specializes in treating a variety of conditions, from clinical nutrition to chronic low back and neck pain, to rehabilitation following an accident or injury. Other focuses include improving your diet, what supplements to take, avoiding toxins, creating a healthier workplace, and increasing the overall quality of your health. Dr. Evangel is a former science teacher with master’s degree in environmental health.

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