I sit at a desk all day as I'm sure many of you do as well. I have to tell you, some days I am just aching in my shoulders and I get headaches from the pain. I know it has to do with how I sit and not taking enough breaks. I finally got rid of my old computer chair which caused me to slouch and picked up a better one that I now sit up straight in.
It is much more comfortable to sit at my desk and type. I'm not slouching at all and my shoulders are more relaxed. If you are a desk jockey and find yourself in pain after a long day of work, you may need to start taking more breaks during the day and stretching out a little bit. Breaks are hard to take when you are so engrossed with work but below are some tips to hopefully help you get into the habit of doing ergonomic exercises to relieve some pain and tension.
Rest Your Eyes
Sitting in front of a computer all day means constant staring at the monitor for hours on end. Your eyes need a break too. Try looking off into the distance to refocus. Also try covering your eyes with your palms for 15 seconds. I forget where I picked that up but it helps a lot and feels relaxing.
Eye Strain Exercises:
Get Your Blood Circulating
We are not meant to sit for hours without any movement. Keep your blood circulating by walking around after every hour of work. It's easy to forget to take breaks so you can set the alarm on your watch to remind you or use the alarm on your email program (I think Microsoft Outlook has this feature.)
Exercises for Neck Pain
Nothing hurts worse on me than my neck when I am sitting all day. I found a good video which demonstrates neck exercises that you can do at your desk. I particularly like the "figure 8" exercise - it is very relaxing.
The best thing for me, besides stretching, is to actually get up and walk around. Sometimes I am stuck on a problem and leaving my desk actually helps me refocus and figure out a solution much faster.
image credit: stock.xchng
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