So you have returned to work after a well earned break over the Christmas/New Year period. Aside from the obvious frustrations about being stuck at your desk all day, your body may very well be reminding you of how much better you felt away from work.  The body was not designed to sit at a desk for eight or so hours a day and a large percentage of our patients are with us as a consequence of poor posture, bad desk setups and long periods of time chained to the desk.

So what can you do?  Well, unless you win Tattslotto tomorrow, work isn’t going anywhere soon, so it’s a question of what you can do to adapt your work situation to make it easier for your body. In the past we have covered desk setup and ergonomics but if you have any further questions about this, please just ask your Osteopath.  In addition to that, we’ve put together a quick selection of exercises you can do in the comfort of your office at regular intervals without distracting you from your work or attracting the gaze of your colleagues too much.

• Shoulder Shrugs
  • Sitting, arms by your side, shrug your shoulders forward five times and then backwards five times.  This gets the whole shoulder girdle moving and works the trapezius muscle, which is stuck in a constant state of tension when sitting with poor posture.
• Shoulder blade squeeze
  • Sitting upright, arms at your side.  Squeeze your shoulder blades together, as if you were trying to grip something between them by pulling your shoulders backwards.  Do so as far as is comfortable without pain.  Hold for 5 seconds and repeat five times.
• Cervical retractions
  • Sitting upright, pull your chin in towards your chest (as if to give yourself a “double chin”) until you feel an easy stretch at the base of the skull (without pain).  Keep the head centred and facing forward. Hold for 5 seconds and repeat five times.
• Cervical rotations
  • Sitting upright, turn your head to look over one shoulder until you feel a slight, pain free stretch.  Keep neck upright and don’t let it fall forward during the rotation.  Repeat five times on either side.
• Upper back extension over the chair
  • Sitting upright on a chair that doesn’t extend higher than your middle back, place your hands above your neck and arch backwards over the chair looking up towards the ceiling.  Only go as far back as comfortable and until you feel a light stretch, no pain.  Hold for 3-5 seconds and repeat five times.
• Upper back rotation
  • Begin sitting with your back straight side on to the back of the chair.  Place your hands on either side of the back of the chair and rotate in that direction, keeping your legs and back straight.  Hold for 3-5 seconds and repeat five times.
• Lower back extension (standing)
  • Standing at your desk, feet shoulder width apart  with back straight, hands on hips.  Gently arch backwards without pain and then return to the upright.  Repeat 5 times.

The crucial thing about all of these exercises is to do them within a pain free range and that you should be feeling a light stretch rather than a pull.  Pain on stretching is an indicator that you’ve gone too far. You may find that some of these are not appropriate for your condition so if you have any queries please just speak to your Osteopath.

They won’t make your work any easier or the pressure from the boss any less but they will make you more comfortable in your work place, which can’t be a bad thing.  Is it home time yet?

Take care, Nick Brasher

Registered Osteopath

Nick Brasher, Osteopath