Working From Home? 5 Exercises To Keep You Pain Free.
Extended lockdown got you feeling blue? Not looking forward to the endless amount of days spent in front of the WFH desk? While we can’t break up your lockdown we can help you to break up your work day and keep your body as pain-free as possible!
Here are 5 exercises to help break you out of that sitting posture and keep you moving throughout the day. Aim to perform these every hour, on the hour.
A demo of the exercises can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkM0IFuQ6sQ
Bruegger’s stretch (30s)
Neck rotations (4x5s)
Seated thoracic rotations (2x30sec)
Kneeling hip flexor stretch (2x30 sec)
Kneeling thoracic rotation (2x30sec)
The Australian Physical Activity Guidelines state (among other things) that breaking up your sitting posture is vital to optimal health.
A copy of the guidelines can be found here:
https://www.health.gov.au/health-topics/physical-activity-and-exercise/physical-activity-and-exercise-guidelines-for-all-australians
To help compound the effects of these exercises make sure your desk setup is not putting excessive load through your low back for extended periods of time. To do this you need to ensure you sit right back into the corner of the chair to ensure you get the full support of the backrest. Alternatively, if your chair doesn’t have low back support, you can roll up a small towel and place it at a comfortable place in your lower back for a little extra support. If you have a standing desk, make sure to alternate between sitting and standing as much as you can.
Remember that there is no perfect posture, the best posture is the one that feels comfortable. Posture doesn’t cause pain, lack of movement does!
Also, some great studies have come out in the last 5 years showing that just 1 hour of good quality, high intensity exercise can reverse all the negative metabolic effects of sitting for 8 hours (https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/53/14/886)! Keep up your exercise, whatever that might look like!