Is your work causing you pain? Work-related injuries aren’t just limited to manual labour like in construction or manufacturing. They can occur in all types of work environments including office spaces.
For example, workers often sit down for almost eight hours a day in deskbound jobs, making repetitive motions.
Prolonged sitting at a desk all day is not healthy for one’s heart or body and can contribute to discomfort and health issues, including:
- Poor posture
- Neck pain
- Back pain
- Obesity
- Circulatory problems
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Cardiovascular disease
- Stress
Here are 5 simple stretches you can do at your desk!
Release the tension in your shoulder and increase mobility
Take a deep breath and lift your shoulders towards your ears, hold for 5 seconds, then let your shoulders fall slowly.
Roll both shoulders forward and backward in a circular motion to increase flexibility.
Do not be too forceful with the movements to avoid hurting your shoulders.
Chair Leg Raises
Won’t give you six-pack abs but will strengthen your lower abdomen.
While seated, raise one of your legs and keep it straight by flexing at the hips. Stop once it is parallel to the floor, pause for about 10 seconds, then lower it.
Do one leg at a time.
Stretch those wrists
Useful for those who use the computer a lot. Increase the mobility in your wrists and avoid carpal tunnel syndrome and other more severe conditions in the future.
Lift your palms and stretch your arms.
Press your palms into each other, then shake your hands to eliminate any tension.
Shoulder Blade Squeeze
Craning your neck over your keyboards for long hours will not boost your productivity. Correct your posture.
Stand straight and squeeze your shoulder blades together.
Hold for a moment, then roll your shoulders back and down.
Rest Your Eyes
Your eyes are at work all the time, so sometimes it is good to give them a break. We usually blink 15-20 times a minute which helps to spread tears evenly over our eyes. However, researchers have found that people blink less when reading or watching something on the screen. So take regular breaks- every 30 minutes, take some time to rest your eyes looking at objects in the distance for about 20 seconds. If you are overloaded with work, set a timer to remind you to take a break. Purposely blinking more frequently can also keep your eyeballs moist and your eye muscles relaxed.
Not everyone has a supportive environment or the capacity to be active. For many workers, lack of time and motivation as they juggle many other priorities in life is why inactive adults do not exercise.
Make these ‘deskercises’ an integral part of your daily routine, but don’t do things beyond your capacity or more than your health allows.
