If you’re an office worker or someone else with a job that requires lots of sitting or driving, I’m sure you have already heard about some of the problems of prolonged sitting, including an increased risk high blood pressure, cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and some cancers.
Besides that, sitting too much almost always causes back, shoulder, or neck pain.
It can also decrease brain function.
But there are tons of easy things you can do to help mitigate these risks and make you feel better and be more productive.
Stretches
When you sit at a desk for long periods of time, some muscles are contracted for too long, causing postural imbalances and pain.
Stretching these muscles, particularly those in the front of your body (chest, neck, abs, quadriceps) throughout the day is essential to preventing muscle pain when you are sitting at a desk for long periods at a time.
Stretch every 20 minutes if you can. At the very least, do a series of stretches once a day to start and work your way up to stretching more often.
There are lots of resources online with recommended stretches for sitting, office work, and head-forward posture. This video is a good one to start with. I will probably add more to this post later as I find more that I like.
If any of the stretches are painful, cause dizziness, or feel like a nerve may be pinched, don’t do them. Look for alternative stretches or talk with a healthcare provider.
Restorative Yoga
I love restorative because I am pretty lazy and it requires almost zero effort.
The supported backbend pose has been my favorite for 15+ years because it works really well to open up the chest and reverse some of the damage of sitting or slouching throughout the day. It also helps to calm the body and mind, so it works great added to your bedtime routine.
Yoga for Healthy Aging has information on how to do this pose.
Stand and Move
If possible stand up at your desk throughout the day. Or if possible, get a standing desk.
Besides that, adding exercise to your day is even more important when you sit all day (which I’m sure you already know).
But you don’t need to do tons of exercise to become a little healthier. Just a 20-minute walk a day can dramatically lower risk for disease, reduce pain levels, and improve sleep.
If you want to move from a sedentary lifestyle to regular exercise, this easy to follow exercise plan from the UK’s National Health Service is a good place to start. It is intended for people who haven’t exercised in a long time and requires no equipment.
Self-Massage
If you’ve been working at a desk job for very long, you probably already have trigger points (knots) in your shoulders, neck, or back. If these don’t cause you pain, then don’t worry about them.
However, if you have muscle pain or stiffness, addressing trigger points can help.
You can follow directions in this trigger point self-care guide to learn the basics of trigger point self-massage.
Some of the most common trigger points in office workers are found in the upper trapezius, levator scapulae, and infraspinatus muscles.
I recommend trying out trigger-point self-massage on one of those muscles. If you notice an improvement in your upper body pain and stiffness, doing this regularly is a good idea.
These links provide more detailed information on each muscle and the best ways to massage them:
Relax
Working in a high-stress environment or having a busy lifestyle makes many people forget how it feels to be relaxed. Once you’ve reached this point, you probably have chronic muscle tension and pain.
There are many meditations and other exercises that you can use to become more aware of your body and remember what it feels like to be totally relaxed. This will help you recognize unnecessary muscle tension and relax tense muscles quickly.
I recommend progressive muscle relaxation for this. There are tons of free guided progressive muscle relaxation audio files and videos on the internet. Dartmouth has one on this page with several other free mediations you can download.
And of course, I’m going to recommend massage.
One reason, though, is because as I already mentioned, I’m lazy. And I know how hard it is to get into a self-care routine that requires a lot of effort, like mediation.
Massage is something you commit to with an appointment, so there is accountability added in.
Also, it’s something you look forward to going to, and once at the office, you get to do nothing. So, essentially, it’s one wellness habit that most people can stick with long enough to reap long-term benefits.
Baby Steps
No matter what you do, just do something. One five minute habit a day can eventually turn into a 60-minute habit and so on. Baby steps can lead to momentum if you do them day after day. 🙂
Want to remember this? Pin this to your favorite Pinterest board so you can find it later!
