In the year of the pandemic, there’s another health threat disrupting many lives, and being sheltered at home is a cause, not a deterrent. It may not have the lethal potential of COVID-19, but it does have harmful consequences as chiropractors across the country are reporting, according the American Chiropractic Association.

If you are among the more than 40 percent of working Americans who can still do their jobs remotely by staying at home, you may have already discovered it’s a pain in the neck— and the back as well. It may not be as dramatic as home front injuries like falling off ladders and mishaps working with tools, but sitting and working hours on end on a computer is taking its toll in musculoskeletal injuries and stresses.

There is exciting news for people suffering from chronic low back pain who have experienced relief from acupuncture and are opposed to turning to risky pharmaceuticals and surgery. Dr. Rick Lambert, Medical Director at Montvale Health Sport + Spine in Montvale, NJ, is pleased to report the decision from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) made earlier this year: Medicare will cover acupuncture treatments for chronic low back pain (cLBP) under the provisions of the Social Security Act.

In a previous blog we considered some of the causes of stress when you’re quarantined or sheltering in place and some of the things you can do to ease that stress.

Things may be loosening up now, but it is not over yet. There is nothing social about covering half of your face and staying a couple of arm-lengths away from just about everyone except those who live under the same roof with you.

Mental health is indeed a state of mind and nothing presents greater day-to-day impact on one’s state of mind than stress. Stress can be both healthy and unhealthy, driving you to complete tasks or face challenges on one hand while stirring up mind-numbing fear and anxiety on the other.

As you age you produce fewer immune bolstering cells. Your system is not as balanced as it once was, and inflammation is more likely to settle in— somewhere in that magnificently engineered structure, the human body. External forces can further erode your immune system, including sedentary lifestyle, poor diet, injury, illness, stress and lack of sleep.