Pain Relief
Are you a desk potato?
If you sit at a desk for a good part of the day and stare at a computer screen, then I would classify you as a desk potato. There is nothing wrong with being a desk potato, as long as you get in some sort of regular exercise each week. Why? Because it will help you to overcome the common afflictions suffered by a large majority of desk potatoes – back, neck and shoulder pain. If you are a desk potato, then I can be almost certain you have been affected by one, or maybe all of the above!
This pain or discomfort is due to one or more of the following factors: sitting in the same position for hours at a time, poor posture, poor workstation set-up or stress. Now, do I have some suggestions for you! These are all simple adjustments that you can make to your everyday life, without disrupting your regular routine:
- Get up and move around. If you’ve been sitting for over an hour, get up and walk to the water cooler, cafeteria or bathroom or do lap around the office, whatever. Giving yourself a little three-minute break every hour will make a huge difference.
- Stretch every 60 minutes. This takes no time at all and can be done right at your desk. Sit with your back straight and tilt your head to your right shoulder, keeping your left shoulder level, until you feel a light stretch. Hold for 20 seconds and repeat on the other side. Next, sit with your back straight and tilt your chin towards your chest. Hold for 20 seconds. Repeat all of the above, so each stretch is done two times. You can incorporate this into my first suggestion; after walking around for a few minutes, sit down and do the stretches.
- Focus on your posture. Desk work can lead to a hunched posture with your chin jutting out. Try to keep your shoulders and your chin back, your back straight and your butt right up against the back of the chair with your feet planted on the floor. Keep everything at 90 degrees. Start from your angles at your ankles, your knees, the angle between your thigh and your torso, and your elbows. It will be hard at first to maintain this all day, but whenever you think about your posture, make the proper adjustments.
- Analyze your workstation. You spend your day there, thus the set-up is key! Make sure that your chair height is suited to your desk height. If the chair is too high you’ll end up hunched over, and if the chair is too low your arms will have to reach too high for the keyboard (remember, all the angles of your body should be at 90 degrees). The position of your computer screen is also important. You do not want it positioned over to the side because you will have to have your head turned that way all day – have your screen positioned in front of you. The height of the screen is equally significant; it should be placed so that the top of the screen is just above eye level.
- Stress can also cause pain or discomfort in the back, neck or shoulders. Monitoring your stress level is very important. If you find it’s getting out of hand, assess the situation and decide what needs to change in order to get your stress level under control.
- Exercise regularly. Exercising before, during or after your workday is an excellent way to combat back, neck or shoulder pain. First of all, it can relieve muscle stiffness and help you to feel more alert. Also, adding core work and other strengthening exercises to your workout routine will increase the strength and endurance of your postural muscles, making it easier to sit with good posture throughout the day. And you can’t deny that exercise is a great stress-buster!
