Working from home is triggering back pain, headaches, carpal tunnel syndrome, and more: what you can do to avoid suffering

People working from home are reporting aches and pains, sore joints, stiffness, carpal tunnel syndrome and headaches

Some employers have helped workers set up correctly at home, and workers are boning up on ergonomics. Whatever your arrangements, regular movement can help

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Working from home is causing an increase in physical problems, from headaches to lower back pain to carpal tunnel syndrome. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 8:15am, 5 Apr 2021Updated: 8:15am, 5 Apr 2021

Lindy Burns had every intention of getting a proper desk and chair when the Covid-19 pandemic forced her to work from home. As a yoga therapy clinic owner, she understands the importance of posture more than most.

A year later, she’s in pain. “I tend to work a lot in the bed or on the floor using the bed as a desk,” says Burns, 38, who is based in Maryland, in the US. “I’m basically in a deep hip flexion all the time, and it’s really causing pain and strain at the hamstrings.”

For many people who have been working remotely on and off since March 2020, the home office never truly became properly set up for work.

Working from home, however, is here to stay as long as the Covid-19 virus continues around the world. A recent surge in positive cases in Hong Kong pushed bosses across the city to ask employees to work from home again.

HSBC suspended services in its Hong Kong headquarters in March and encouraged its staff to work from home, after three people working in the building tested positive for Covid-19. Photo: May Tse

Although HSBC’s headquarters in Hong Kong was only closed for a week in March, many of its employees are still encouraged to work from home.

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