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What Are the Best Exercises for People Who Sit All Day?

Written By Texas Spine & Sports Rehab Clinic on August 31, 2023

Sitting at a desk all day puts added strain on your neck, shoulders, and lower back. If you’ve found yourself Googling, “desk exercises for sedentary lifestyle” and “stretching exercises WFH,” Texas Spine & Sports Rehab Clinic can help. Chiropractors treat conditions of the spine, muscles, and nerves and can offer posture correction and ergonomic education to relieve work-related aches and pains. Here are a few stretching routines for desk jobs that will relieve stress and tension and reduce pain, and can help you with working out at work.    

Shoulder Stretches

Stretching at work strengthens the muscles that support the spine and joints. When these muscles are more limber and flexible, they offer better support and there is less strain put on your muscles, joints, and nerves. Your posture while typing and sitting at your computer can cause shoulder stiffness, aches, and inflammation. Shoulder stretching exercises can help:

  • Place one hand under your elbow and stretch your arm across your chest while lifting your elbow.
  • Keep your body straight and hold the stretch for 30 seconds. 
  • Repeat the stretch with the other arm.

Lower Back Stretches 

Even when you work from home, you need to remind yourself to get up and walk around every hour or so to stretch out your muscles and relieve pressure on your spine and joints. Work from home stretches, like these lower back stretches, can improve flexibility and mobility and relieve lower back pain:

  • While sitting forward in your chair, bring one of your knees up toward your chest.
  • Grab the back of your thigh with your hands and pull it towards you while keeping your back straight. Don’t lean forward.
  • Hold the stretch for 30 seconds, and then repeat with the other leg.

Neck Stretches

Looking at your computer screen all day puts pressure on the delicate structures of the cervical spine. Poor posture and a non-ergonomic workstation exacerbate neck strain. Doing these neck stretches throughout the day can ease tension, inflammation, stiffness, and pain:

  • While facing straight ahead, tilt your head so your ear moves toward your shoulder until it is almost touching. Do not move your shoulders.
  • Hold the stretch for 30 seconds, and then repeat on the other side. 

Visit a Chiropractor for More WFH Stretches in League City, TX

At Texas Spine & Sports Rehab Clinic, Dr. Vazquez, our chiropractor in League City, TX, can assess your posture and balance and determine the underlying cause of your work-related aches and pains. He will guide you through therapeutic WFH stretches and exercises to ease tension, reduce inflammation, and improve flexibility and range of motion. Call us today to schedule an appointment.

 


Posted In: Exercise