We have all been working from home and as we are returning towards offices one thing will not change for some of us is working from your desk. How do you make sure that low back pain or sitting fatigue does not destroy your posture? We have few exercises attached for your review and a reminder. Happy working!!! from home or office...…
1. Seated Piriformis Stretch: The Piriformis muscle (otherwise known as your sitting muscle) often becomes tight due to prolonged sitting. This simple seated exercise will release tension in your glutes and hip flexors and even help relieve any sciatic pain.
· Start by sitting in a chair and cross your leg over your opposite knee.
· While keeping your spine straight, slowly lean your chest forward towards to the ground until you feel a strong yet comfortable stretch.
· Hold this position for about 30 seconds
· Repeat this stretch with your opposite leg.
2. Seated Hamstring Stretch: Constantly sitting for hours at a time could lead to tight hamstrings which can lead to back pain, knee pain, and limit your overall mobility.
· Begin by sitting upright in chair with one leg in front of the other.
· Slowly lean your trunk forward until you feel a stretch in the back of your leg
· Hold for about 30 seconds
· Repeat on the other leg.
3. Seated Lower Back Stretch:
· While keeping your spine straight, slowly lean forward while sitting in your chair and try to reach for your ankles
· Grab on to your ankle, or shin and hold for about 20 seconds.
· Repeat 3 times
4. Seated back stretch:
· While sitting, grab the arm or the seat of your chair with both hands.
· Twist your upper body, using the arms or the seat of the chair
· Hold for 5-10 seconds and turn to the opposite direction
5. Seated Neck Stretch
· Grab on to the bottom of your seat with both hands with your back straight
· Slowly lean your head to the right side of your body and hold while you feel a stretch on the left side of your neck.
· Hold for 10-20 seconds
· Repeat on the opposite side.
Discomfort and soreness is part of life. What is not normal is living with pain. If you are still experiencing that pain, it's time to talk to your physical therapist or primary care physician.
Try to stay away from narcotics, injections and knife happy surgeons as a primary option for your treatment. There are no magic bullets but majority of pain symptoms can be resolved with conservative measures like exercises, manual therapy and pain management.
*My lawyer told me to inform you that this is an informative article not a medical advice.
Zuhair Haque, Exercise Specialist at Rehabon Physical Therapy. Zuhair enjoys basketball and he cannot wait to start the DPT program at North Central College in 2023. Zuhair has an extensive experience for working for multiple physical therapy/rehab organizations.
-- Irfan Ibrahim is an Owner/Physical Therapist at Rehabon Physical Therapy, Downers Grove IL 60515. He enjoys sunshine and rainbows with his three children. Loves hiking, biking and golfing but he has accepted to live with his mediocre skills. Questions??!! Email him: Irfan@rehabon.com follow him on Facebook