Throughout the covid craziness of the past two years we have seen a rise in the number of patients presenting with pain and stiffness due to working from home.

They are constantly asking us for exercises, tips and advice in order to manage this pain from home and we are more than happy to give it! Keep reading for our top exercise and stretching advice while working from home!

How do I know if my work ergonomics is impacting my body?

At the beginning of the pandemic we posted a guide on how to transition from working in the office to working from home. Little did we know, almost 2 years later, that many of us would still be working from home and will continue to in the near future.

Sitting at an ergonomically poor desk for hours on end can lead to developing upper crossed syndrome, a condition involving the following;

• Tight upper traps, pectoral, levator scapulae and suboccipital muscles
• Weak deep neck flexors, lower traps, serratus anterior and rhomboid muscles

Patients with upper crossed syndrome often experience neck, back and shoulder pain, headaches, restricted movement and difficulty sitting comfortably for periods of time.

Other conditions which can be impacted by desk work ergonomics include low back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome and golfers/ tennis elbow. 

Does this sound familiar?

Try some of our favorite stretching and strengthening exercises below!

How can I help myself?

1. Seated book opens:

This is an easy exercise you can complete to help improve your thoracic spine mobility.

Start sitting in your chair, feet flat on the floor and back in an upright position. Raise your arms directly out in front of you until they are in line with your shoulders.

Place your palms together so that your thumbs are pointing up at the ceiling, this is your starting position.

Take a deep breath in, as you breathe out, separate your hands, keep your arm straight and by twisting through your mid back, try and touch the wall behind you. Return arm back to starting position and repeat on the other side. 

2. Upper trap/ levator scapulae stretch:

As mentioned previously, two muscles that can often become tight and sore when working at a desk for long periods of time are the upper portion of our trapezius muscle and our lev scap muscle.

Here is an easy variation of the same exercise which allows you to release some of the tension in both of these muscles. Start either seated or standing, place one of your arms diagonally behind your back.

Bend your neck to the opposite side of the arm you have just put behind your back, like you are trying to bring your ear towards your shoulder.

This will stretch your upper traps. In the same position, gently rotate your head 45° so your nose is pointing towards your armpit. This will stretch your lev scap.

If you don’t feel a stretch on these movements you can place your hand on your head and gently add a little bit of pressure to increase the stretch. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat on the other side.

3. Pec door stretch

Start by standing in an open doorway, standing closer to one side. Bend your arm and elbow so that they are both at 90° and place it on the side of the door frame.

With one foot in front of the other and keeping your arms still and stable, gently lean your body forward so that your body weight is on your front foot. You should feel a stretch through your anterior chest (pec major).

In order to stretch your pec minor muscle, you can bring your arm higher up on the door frame, so it’s above shoulder height and repeat the previous instructions.

Hold for 30 seconds and repeat on the other arm.

4. Scapula sets

Start by standing in an upright position in front of a wall.

Place your hands on the wall in front of you, just below shoulder height.

Bring your shoulders back and down and focus on trying to draw the bottom of your shoulder blades towards the opposite hip. Hold this position for 5 seconds and repeat it 5 times.

Don’t over exert or strain too much, keep breathing throughout the exercise, this should only be a gentle activation of the traps, rhomboids and lat dorsi muscles.

5. Chin tucks

This exercise can be completed seated, standing or lying down, depending on what is most comfortable for you.

For beginners, I would recommend starting standing or seated.

Pull your shoulders down and back, and maintain an upright posture.

Bring your chin back towards your neck, as if you were trying to resemble a double chin and hold for 3-5 seconds. Repeat this 3-5 times. 

Why is this important? 

Implementing the above advice and incorporating movement into your day to day life is not only beneficial for reducing aches and stiffness.

Daily movement and breaking up periods of being stationary has shown have a number of other benefits such as;

• Boosting mood and reducing symptoms of depression & anxiety
• Reducing brain fog and enhancing cognition
• Reducing the risk of developing heart disease and various forms of cancers.

Heart disease and Stretching and strengthening are only one aspect of the road to recovery!

Manual therapy, ergonomic and breathing advice, retraining functional movement patterns and preventing recurrence of pain and injury are all equally important.

Head to our website or call us on 9736 9408 to book your osteopathy consultation to see how we can help you today!