As an office worker who is desk bound for majority of their working day you are prone to experiencing lower back, shoulder, neck & elbow pain.
This is something that tends to happen over time. There are a lot of people who will write their pain off as “old age”. However, as you may be getting older by the day, being desk bound for hours at a time can make you feel much older than you really are.
For this reason, we have made a list of healthy habits that are essential for reducing your risk of developing pain because of your workplace environment.
1. Get a desk that you can alternate between standing and sitting.
By far the biggest factor that contributes to developing pain associated with a desk based job, isn’t the fact that you are sitting for 8 hours a day. It’s actually the fact that you are not moving for 8 hours a day. When you are restricted to one position for hours at a time, your tendons, muscles & ligaments adapt to that position. This results in certain muscle groups to become abnormally tight and weak. The thing that makes the standing desk a life saver, is the fact that it greats variability. We recommend that you change between sitting and standing at least every 1-2 hours. This will limit the amount of tightness and weakness that develops in association with a seated sedentary desk job.
2. Go for a walk in your lunch breaks!
It doesn’t have to be the whole lunch break. Even just walking for 15min in your lunch break can be enough to prevent physiological changes that occurs in association with a desk job.
3. Have a quick 5-minute stretch routine that you feel comfortable doing at work.
The reason I say that you need to have a routine that you feel comfortable with, is because not everyone is lucky enough to be able to lie down on the floor in the middle of the office work space every hour and do their yoga poses. It is recommended that everyone has a unique stretch routine that caters to their bodies. Next time that you are in at the clinic, have a quick chat to your Pilates instructor or physiotherapist and they will be able to advise you on the best stretch routine for your body and your workspace.