Are you one of the many people that works sitting at a desk all day? If so,
you’ve probably noticed some symptoms of pain, tension, or fatigue. All of
these are normal side effects from staying stationary in one (usually not
ergonomic) position for hours at a time.
Although the modern world was designed for this kind of work, our bodies
weren’t. To counteract the bad effects of a stationary desk job, set a timer to
go off every hour and try some of these stretches. Your body will thank you.
1. The Slow Nod
Sit up straight and with your shoulders straight. Slowly bend your neck forward
until your chin touches your chest. Hold for a second. Reverse the movement,
gradually tilting your chin up to the ceiling until you go as far as you can. Hold for a
second. Repeat the Slow Nod five times.
2. The Seated Cat/Cow
Put your feet flat on the floor and sit up straight. Rest your hands flat on your knees.
Take a slow, deep breath and arch your back, looking up to the ceiling. Gently pull
your shoulders back as you do this. Exhale and round your spine forward, dropping
your head to your chest and pulling your shoulders forward. Repeat the Seated
Cat/Cow 8-10 times.
3. The Forward Bend
Stand up with your feet flat on the floor. Bend over, allowing your head to gently
drop forward and your arms to hang down by your sides. It’s not necessary to touch
your toes; just stretch as far down as feels comfortable. Repeat the Forward Bend
twice.
4. The Eagle Wings
While sitting upright, put your arms out in front of you, parallel to the floor and
shoulder-width apart. Bend your left arm upward and move the right arm under it.
Now, wrap your right arm around your left until you can touch your hands together
or grasp your left arm’s outer edge. Lift your elbows up to the ceiling with your
hands pointing straight up. Hold the position and turn your head from side to side,
slowly, for eight breaths. Reverse your arms and repeat on the other side.
5. The Standing Pigeon
(You might want to wait until your coworkers go to lunch to do this one.)
Stand with your feet flat on the floor, hip-distance apart, facing your desk. Lift your
leg up and put your foot and the bottom half of your leg on the desk. Bend your knee
until the bottom half of your leg is perpendicular to your body. Hold for eight
breaths and then switch, repeating the stretch with your other leg.
6. The Shake-It-Slowly
Twist your neck as far as you can to the left. Look back over your left shoulder and
hold for one second. Repeat on the other side, looking back over your right shoulder.
Repeat the Shake-It-Slowly five times on each side.
7. The Shrug
Sit as tall as you can and pull your shoulders up toward your ears. Hold for a count
of three, and then release, fully relaxing your shoulders. Repeat the Shrug five times.
Try these stretches to fight against a desk job, but with the strain that a desk job
does to the body, a chiropractor might also be in order for your pain relief and to
keep your body functioning at full force. Give us a call at Duncan Chiropractic today!