Some people want to work from home and some people had working from home thrust upon them. Either way, your daily work routine likely looks very different these days.
Here are the best 5 stretches to do at home to prevent or ease neck and back pain. The truth is staring at a computer screen is pretty awful for your posture. The position our bodies are in when typing on a keyboard sets our shoulders in to a raised posture, automatically putting tension on our neck and back muscles.
Neck Roll
Gently drop your head forward bringing your chin to your chest, slowly rotate to the left and then right side trying to drop your ear to your shoulder. You will feel the stretch on the opposite side. For a more intense and supported stretch gently use your hand on the opposite side of your head to push down.
Watch the short video of Dr. Mark demonstrating an effective neck roll.
Chest & Arm Stretch
Using a door (or a support beam, or sturdy piece of furniture) put your hands on either side of the door jam and slowly move your body forward. Keep your gaze forward and your chin level with the ground. This will open up your chest and you will also feel a nice stretch through your arms.
Hamstring & Glute Stretch
If you have a stretching band go ahead and break it out to stretch your hamstrings, if not you can always use a scarf, belt or a tie. Lying on your back with your legs straight out wrap your band around the bottom of one shoe keeping each end of the band in a hand. Slowly raise your leg straight up in the air until you feel resistance. You can adjust the pull on the band and how high you raise your leg to either reduce or increase the intensity of the stretch. Now, rotate your leg inwards and bring heel towards your groin allowing your knee to bend out, like a frog. Repeat the process with your other leg.
Quadricep Stretch
For this stretch you may want to hold a chair or a wall to help balance and stabilize you. Standing straight up bend your right knee bringing your right ankle towards your buttocks. Hold your ankle in this position to stretch your quad. Switch sides. If you feel comfortable you can challenge your balance by doing this stretch without holding on to the chair or wall.
Shoulder Raises & Rolls
For an amazing shoulder release raise your shoulders to your ears and slowly rotate them back, down and then forward and then back up again. You should feel the release and an almost massage-like sensation in your lats and traps.
Make it a Routine
Hold each of these stretches for 5-10 seconds and repeat 2-3 times as necessary. These stretches can be done in only a couple of minutes and will give you and your muscles a much needed break throughout the day. Do them daily and the positive effects will be cumulative.
Remember stretching should feel like a muscle release, but should not be painful. If you feel sharp pains at any time stop your stretch and call the office immediately.
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