Dr. Corrin Schreyer demonstrates poor desk posture.
4 Stretches for the Office
Take a few minutes at different parts of your day to make some changes to your posture, your flexibility, and potentially some of your discomfort. The next time you feel poor posture or immobility plaguing you, try these four stretches at your desk:
1. Chin Retraction
Why this stretch?
- This will strengthen the postural muscles in your neck and stretch the structure in the back of your neck that can cause tension headaches, shoulder pain, and even arm and wrist discomfort or numbness.
2. Chest opener
Why this stretch?
- When slouching, our chest muscles can get very tight, making it hard to stay upright and putting us at risk for neck, shoulder, and low back pain.
- Do you have a door at your house or office? Most likely – take 30s on your way to the fax machine or break room and try this stretch to help reduce muscle tension in your pectoralis muscles.
3. Seated hamstring stretch
4. Seated piriformis stretch
Why this stretch?
- Sitting for prolonged periods of time puts our hamstrings and glute muscles at a tightened position for a long time. Hip tightness can be a major cause for low back, hip, or knee pain.
Why should I be doing stretches at the office?
- Many people work at a desk and this is where we spend quite a bit of our life, meaning, we need to make sure that we have a routine to keep us healthy in that area.
- Many people state that they do not have time to exercise, or they do not have the energy to exercise after work. These stretches can be done anywhere between 30 seconds to a few minutes here and there throughout the day. If you have your Zoom camera off for that meeting later, it makes it even easier. Or you can keep it on and show your stretches to your colleagues in the office!
- Some of the most common injuries seen could have been avoided if a regular stretching routine and proper posture were utilized to begin with.
- These are easy to sneak into your everyday routine. There is a lot of value in doing a little bit everyday to prevent injury and keep yourself healthy.
Poor posture can cause:
- Neck pain
- Shoulder pain
- Low back pain
- Wrist pain or numbness
- And more!
Need more?
So, what can you do about it? A lot! If you’re still experiencing consistent neck, shoulder, low back, or hip pain, we are happy to help you schedule an appointment for an evaluation by either one of our very skilled chiropractors or physical therapist to help you make the changes you need to get you back to your fullest potential without pain. Call us at 515-421-4018 or book online.
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