Sitting at a desk all day is brutal on the body. It has long been thought that an office job was quite cushiony. But now, experts are saying that long periods at desks, chairs, and computer screens are causing a new kind of stress on the body.
Repetitive motions from answering the telephones, and typing on a keyboard without proper wrist support create agony in the neck and arms.
Basic chairs that are neither meant for eight-hour sits, nor ergonomically designed, mess up the back, neck, legs, hips, and tailbone.
Glare from both the overhead ceiling lights, and the computer monitor, causes eye strain and headaches.
It’s no wonder a new phrase called office syndrome has been coined. And it doesn’t strictly affect those individuals going into a company office each day.
It is also attributed to anyone that works out of their home or garage. The results are the same. It is still office illness.
Consequently, this discussion will focus on stretching for relief of office workers.
Because stretching is such a simple and convenient exercise, performing a stretch at your desk or nearby lends itself perfectly to office workers.
Once you know which stretches can help by targeting a particular spot or pain, then all you need to do is complete them when you feel tired, or alternatively, set a specific schedule to follow.
For example, if you know you take a break after three hours of work, stretch during your break, but also time the other stretches to happen at hour intervals between starting work and taking your actual break.
If you are not permitted to leave your work station, choose a stretch that can be done sitting down and only takes a brief amount of time. You might even be stretching while you continue to work!
Stretches For Neck and Shoulder Pain at Desk
Neck
Neck
Once you get that crick in your neck from consistently holding your head a specific way, you know it is going to be a miserable day.
But one stretch that is so simple and quick to relieve that neck pain goes like this.
Take your left arm and place it over your head reaching to the right ear. Touch your ear with your hand and gently pull the head to the left.
Hold for a few seconds. You will feel the stretch in your neck. Switch sides and use the right arm pulling the head toward the right shoulder.
Not only is the pain lessened, but you loosen the muscle or tendon that is causing the pain in the first place.
Shoulder, Neck, Back
For that aching shoulder, why not try ten shoulder rolls? All you need to do is sit up perfectly straight, and keep your chin tucked in to your body.
Right away you will feel the stretch in your neck. Now, roll your shoulders methodically in circles. Make sure to go up, down, backward and forward.
At this point, you will start feeling the stretch in your back around the shoulder blades.
By the way, do you know why the shoulder hurts when working at the computer?
Well, this is called mouse shoulder because using a mouse is actually an unnatural position.
Your arm is extended for most of the day putting strain on the shoulder. This repetitive and abnormal stance causes pain and in some circumstances damage.
Finally, once you’ve done both these exercises above, you will feel better. You’ll feel the tingling in your body which means the blood is circulating, plus, the aches should have subsided.
Admittedly, if you work at a job where there is constant monitoring, and quotas to achieve, it is tempting to forgo any type of exercise because you are either worried about being reprimanded, or you believe it takes too much time away from your work.
The reality is stretching for relief of office workers is essential. The two examples above can be done in no time at all, and no-one even needs to know you are doing them. That’s how easy and natural they are to do.
Stretches For Upper Back Pain From Sitting
You don’t realize it, but when are sitting at a desk or table trying to work on the computer, you are continually looking down. You might watch the keyboard as you type, or your screen may be small, so you need to look down to it.
Whatever the reason, your neck is continually forced downward, creating tension and eventually pain.
Likewise, most people have very poor posture when working at their computers.
It’s funny because when typewriters were the chosen form of document-writing, one of the first things the teacher told you before you even learned how to hold your hands and where the keys were, was to sit up straight.
She told you to place both feet firmly flat on the floor, and to sit with your head high, and back straight. Posture was actually part of the exam process.
Today, there are no real schools or lessons for typing on a computer keyboard. Most people are self-taught and as a result, have very poor posture habits.
Yet, this is not a history lesson, but an example to explain why the back hurts after hours of sitting.
Amazingly, upper back pain from sitting is a by-product of the technological age. Whether it be slouching on the couch checking your smart phone, or doing a school assignment on a laptop, or catching up with your day job, all of these activities bring us right back to office illness.
Treatment for this ailment is stretching for relief of office syndrome.
The butterfly stretch is perfect to release the tightness and tension in the upper back, as well as the neck. It should be easy enough to perform while sitting on the couch or at your desk.
Bend your elbows and lightly touch your shoulders with your fingers. Now, bring your elbows in toward one another so that the back is opened up.
You’ll feel several muscles stretching during this fun exercise.
11 Ways To Avoid Tech-Neck While Using A Computer Or Working at a Desk
Combined with stretching for relief of office workers, it is important to take preventative measures in order to reduce the risk of strain and injury to muscles and tendons.
Back, neck and shoulder problems cause employees to take an incredible number of sick days due to the pain and suffering of repetitive actions and poor work environments.
But what if you work at home for yourself, or you work at a job with no sick pay or no insurance? Invariably, you keep on working because you can’t afford to lose one cent of income.
In reality, you should be searching out an exercise for back, neck and shoulder pain due to computer use. And if you really cannot take a day off for those muscles to recover, then thinking in advance can help you to have a more comfortable work day.
- Keep hydrated. Have a glass or bottle of water nearby so that you can drink as needed.
- Breathe. Inhale and exhale deeply to reduce stress and take a momentary break.
- Set up your monitor at eye level. Avoid having to look down all day which causes grief for the neck, back and eyes.
- Try not to tighten up the upper part of your body. Keep your shoulders relaxed.
- Hold the mouse lightly. It is not necessary to grab the mouse as though it was going to run away. Keep muscles loose with a very loose grip on the external mouse.
- Use a wrist protector. Having something that is shock-absorbing under wrists to type on the keyboard relaxes your hands, and keeps them even with the keyboard. Not only are pains avoided, but it is easier to type in this position.
- Use a footrest. The best footrests are movable. The top pad shifts back and forth, much like a rocking chair. You can change the position of your feet, giving your calves a nice stretch, and keeping the blood flowing through your legs and feet.
- Telephones have always been a nightmare for the neck. Typically, you tilt your head, holding the handset between the shoulder and ear. Now, it is even worse, because people are trying to do the same thing with their small cell phones. Regardless of the phone, get a headset or ear buds to keep things hands-free. The speaker phone works too.
- Stretch every hour. Set an alarm on your phone so that you don’t lose track of time. Of course, if you work in an office with other people, you can’t have all these alarms going off at different times. Instead, you can check out the free apps that produce silent notifications.
- Leg stretches, while working, are amazing. Extend your legs out off the floor. Point your toes extending your leg as long as it can go. Hold. Then bring the toes up and toward the leg pointing at the ceiling, stretching out the back of the legs and the ankles.
- Adjust settings on computer screen to ease strain on eyes. Use an anti-glare screen protector if necessary. Even privacy filters can help because they force you to sit directly in front of the screen so your body is not twisted.
Final Thoughts on Stretching for Relief of Office Workers
Office syndrome is real. It is not just a fancy phrase used by individuals wanting to get out of doing their tasks and assignments.
It refers to all types of workers, whether they go into a structured work environment, or they stay at home freelancing. Even a student at the library or coffee shop can suffer from office illness.
It’s not the place that counts. It is the way the work is being done on a computer or sitting at a desk.
Therefore, our recommendation for effective treatment and prevention is stretching for relief of office workers.
