Preventing desk work pain 102:

As promised, this week we're going to look into some exercises that will help reduce the tension and pain that has increased since everyone has started to work from home. By incorporating these simple movements into their day-to-day, many of my patients have been able to work longer with less pain.

A quick disclaimer here: these movements are not for everybody and by no means do they replace the expertise of a physiotherapist. I'm simply sharing what works for me and my patients. If any of these exercises cause any discomfort, it's best to hold off on them until you can be properly assessed by a professional.

#1 Chin tucks: most of us have adopted a forward head posture as a result of the time we spend on our devices. What that means is that our head sits in front of our shoulders rather than on top of them. Sit up tall and bring your chin straight back towards the back of your head as if you're closing a drawer. This will stretch the back of your neck while strengthening the muscles in the front!

#2 Wall angels: this is my favorite clean up on aisle 9 exercise for posture. It's quite difficult to do properly so make sure to be picky with your form. You want to maintain contact with the wall and your heels, bum, upper back, head, and arms throughout the entire movement. This works your scapular stabilizers--muscles that attach to your shoulder blade that help support your shoulder as it moves.

#3 Prone press up: this is an important exercise for low back pain, especially for the slouchers in the crowd. When we spend hours sitting, we mostly spend our time with our low back in flexion (rounded). This can put strain on certain segments of the back causing discomfort in the low back, glutes, or even down the legs. This exercise can reduce this pain and tension by taking our low back into a range of motion that we don't often get into.

These are my three pain go-to exercises that get the ball rolling with postural correction. Like I said in my previous post, these exercises are only effective when you address systemic factors like your desk set up and how frequently you change your position at work. By taking control of these factors and incorporating more daily movement you can start to reduce your tension and pain!

#ergonomics #patienteducation