Fire Ergo: Pain
"You hurt yourself playing video games??!!" "Wait, injured your back just from sitting at a desk?"
Yep and yep angry skeptic, the amount of repetitive stress and long term load while at our desk is significant. The usual suspects are low back pain, neck tightness, headaches, and numbness/tingling in the hands. This is only the tip of the iceberg, as we can see effects of sitting in other systems like breathing issues, cardiovascular diseases, and metabolic syndromes.
Fire is the elemental theme of the 4th installment of my Elemental Ergo series and the perfect fit to represent pain. Pain comes in many forms, and therefore there are numerous ways to treat it. For this post, I'll be focusing on the musculoskeletal system primarily. Of course, if you are experiencing any symptoms or pain, always seek out a medical professional.
Throughout this article, I'll be mentioning various ways to combat pain at your desk. One of the most important means is self-care/mobilization for musculoskeletal pain. This article will feature products from Hyperice, one of the industry leaders, for their design, effectiveness, and use throughout the sporting world. They were kind enough to send out a few products to test, hence why they'll be peppered throughout the post.
Alright, let's jump into it and stomp out this fire.
Icing
Icing IMO is the most underutilized treatment for self-care out there. I find that patients are commonly reluctant to using ice. I completely understand as ice doesn't have the same calming or relaxing effects as heat, but it works wonders for common desk injuries.
I recommend using ice with an acute (it happened within 2-3 days) injury most of the time. The ice helps to decrease the swelling and inflammation that occurs with standard-issue desk injuries like numbness, tingling, and burning sensations.
Ice massage is one of my favorite methods of using ice at your desk.
Throw a small amount of ice in a sandwich bag or Ziploc or freeze water in a dixie cup
Put a small amount of lotion on the area
Gently rub the ice over the lotion
Move the area within a pain-free range of motion (i.e., for the wrist flex and extend)
Be mindful of how your skin feels and take a break after 30 seconds for the skin to warm back up before you start up again
If you don't already have ice packs at your house, I would recommend investing in some ASAP. We use these in my office.
Coldpacs are made of gel, conform well to most body parts, and stay cold. Once again, be mindful of how your skin reacts to the cold as we want to avoid frostbite like symptoms. Always wrap ice or ice packs in a towel when using and never on bare skin.
Heat
Heat is everyone's go-to regardless of what ails you at the time. I'm a big fan of heat for tight, tense, stiff, and typical muscle-induced headaches from working at a desk.
For my gamers out there, heat is a fantastic modality to use before a gaming session. I recommend using heat before your pre-game stretching/warm-up. The heat will expel the stiffness from your hands, low back, and neck. This enhances the stretching process by promoting blood flow before the muscles are asking for it.
Do you have headaches at the end of the day or after a long gaming session? First, you need to look at your set up to make sure that it isn't contributing to the headaches. Secondly, I recommend using a towel with warm water on your neck to help relax the muscles that commonly contribute to our headaches called the suboccipital group. Here’s a simple stretch that’ll relieve tension in the suboccipital area.
Our low backs are also a common area of stiffness and tightness due to sitting throughout the day. I've been testing the Hyperice Venom for my back throughout the day. Everyone can use it as they please, but I've found it works best for me mid-day.
As I transition from sitting to standing at my desk, I notice my back will feel stiff/tight (mostly when I've been slacking and sitting for more than an hour). So mid-day, I pop the Venom on with medium heat and wave pulse to loosen me up. After 5-10 minutes, I'll hop over to an exercise ball to start my thoracic extension and my lumbar flexion mobilization exercises. After that, I feel like a million bucks, and I'm ready to continue the exhilarating adventure of writing patient notes.
One common mistake I see patients make is leaving heat therapy on too long. Anything over 20 minutes is too much, in my opinion. I commonly hear patients sleeping with the heating pad on all night, which is a big no no for various reasons. I believe 10-15 minutes is the sweet spot for heat duration from what I've seen in my office.
Self Care and Mobilization
What's your plan of attack when you experience a neck cramp or tightness in your hand? Do you pop an Advil and call it a day? This is the scenario that plays out over and over again at our desk. While Advil can be the short term solution, it's not addressing the structural issue causing the actual pain.
Addressing the trigger points and tightness starts with moving the muscle group through a pain-free range of motion (ROM). By moving through a ROM (rather than static), we can expose different portions of the muscle, allowing for a more efficient treatment.
There are a few ways you can facilitate this targeted type of stretching. One is to simply use your hand and hold the trigger point as you move through the ROM. Another is by using a tool to assist you. This is my preferred method as it allows for deeper penetration into the tissue and saves your hands from cramping up.
Hypervolt+
For this article, I wanted to showcase the Hyperice Hypervolt (HV). I've been using the HV for a couple of weeks now, and I'm continually amazed at its ability to knock out spasms. I was fortunate enough (I guess) to have a terrible mid-trapezius spasm after receiving the HV. In the picture below, I placed the HV on the trigger point and moved it through a simple ROM. Stretching/moving through this pain releases a "good pain feeling" of endorphins and relaxes us.
Active ROM for Trapezius and Levator Scapulae mm.
It's so important to acknowledge that you have the pain. I know it sounds weird to hear that admitting is the first step, but it's true. Pushing through the pain, ignoring, and poppin' an Advil isn't the way to go. By taking the time to work on the pain physically, we are fixing the issue physically, but also alleviating the mental strain from having the pain which will affect our performance.
Manual therapy and Mobilization
I may be a bit biased here, but I can't stress the importance enough of seeking out a professional for your aches and pains. If the above tips haven't yielded the results you're looking for; it's time to get a professional involved. Whether it's your primary care physician, Doctor of Chiropractic, or a Doctor of Physical therapy, it doesn't matter to me.
Manual Therapy- Using manual therapy helps break up the tightness and adhesions within the area. In my experience, manual therapy allows me to move the tendons past the range of motion that you would typically stop at. As mean as that may sound, doing this helps with the reparative process significantly.
Mobilization of the joint- Mobilization provides similar benefits as manual therapy but also is beneficial to the joints of the body. The idea here is simple, "Joints are happy when they are moving." If you cease to move the joint from the muscle pain, you'll start to feel sore, stiff pain from the lack of movement. Once again, if you keep the body moving, it will thank you.
Exercise is Clutch
I've covered this topic a few times, from routines to the importance of exercise to your mental performance. Incorporating exercise into your everyday life and into your breaks throughout the day will boost your performance so da#n much.
Rocktape
The first time my patients try Rocktape, they assume it's a gimmick. After two days of wearing it, they'll come back and admit they were wrong. I've used it in my practice and on myself for 8+ years with stellar results. Rock Tape provides stability to the area, edema control, and still allows you to move the affected area.
The key to using RT properly is in the technique. Anyone can slap some tape on you. Professionals know that how you cut the tape, the stretch put on the tape, and the tape placement are the factors that make it effective. Go see a medical professional first before you buy it and tape yourself incorrectly.
Pain and Proper Fueling
When you fill-up your car, do you put in whatever liquid, or do you put in the proper gasoline? Ya, that's what I thought. Putting transmission fluid or heavy cream into your car's tank will yield terrible performance. This holds true for your body as well.
If we consume highly processed foods, loads of sugar, and drink pop instead of water, we not only inflame our bodies, but we perform poorly. In part 3 of this series, we covered the importance of hydration and nutrition. Proper hydration continues to be an overlooked aspect of performance in gaming and at work. It's a simple step to up your game.
Closing Out
Newsflash pain should never come with the territory of desk work or long hours of gaming. As I've covered throughout this article, there are so many ways that you can take the reins when it comes to pain at your desk. But you have to take the necessary steps to do so. Maybe you're drinking more water, taking more breaks to move around, or treating yourself to a self-care tool. They're all a step in the right direction, and that's what really matters.
For my gamers out there, I'd recommend getting the Hypersphere Mini for a couple of reasons.
Cheap entry for beginners
Stores easily in or on your desk
Versatile for all body parts especially in the hands and forearms
It looks freakin' sweet. Like it could easily hold the purple Infinity Stone (stone may cost extra)
Once again, I wanted to thank Hyperice for allowing me to test a couple of their products. Transparency is the foundation of my work here at FTW, so when I rave about product, it works, period.