Your daily life may be relatively healthy. You are aware of what you eat and drink. You work hard on drinking water through out the day. But you still feel rough. There is a tightening in your shoulders and knots in the tops of your shoulders. And the knots never seem to unwind. Your daily work life could be a huge component. If you sit at a desk for eight hours, its incredibly likely you spend a good amount hunched over. Slouching for extended stretches of time, especially on a daily basis will overstretch the spinal ligaments and strains the discs within your spine. Any position held for an extended period of time strains your body. But lets say you’re conscious of your posture at work (or have had it drilled into you as a child at your dinner table), you can still be causing damage to your spine. What you’re sitting on matters too.
The chair you sit at could be causing it’s own damage outside of your posture stance. It’s important that the chair you sit in is proportional to your body and height. Your elbows should be at a 90-degree angle with the table top, and your back pressed against the back of the chair. Ideally there is also a cushion that creates a slight arch to your back so you’re still not slumping forward.
You know your posture is important and the type of chair you sit on. But you can also stretch while sitting at your desk. Start slow, and simply tilt your head back and forth, and side to side. You make not realize that you generally keep your head locked into one position while working. That rigid stance makes the nerves in your neck to contract and tighten. Slowly stretching your neck in simple movements helps unwind your nerves, and adds flexibility to the ligaments. Pain in your shoulders? Simply raising your arms and bending them individually behind your head will stretch your triceps and relieve pressure from your mid back. If you find yourself slouching frequently a good stretch to combat that would be a shoulder stretch. Grab your hands behind the back of your chest and arch your chest forward. Hold this pose for roughly 30 seconds, and repeat a couple of times. Arching your back into this C position once again relieves the pressure put on your back from being hunched over. And a simple stretch to release pressure from your lower spine only requires a simple twist. Cross one leg over your thigh while sitting at the chair and twist your upper body in the opposite direction. Do this stretch on both sides for a greater range of flexibility. And you don’t have to suffer through pain sitting down. It’s important for everyone to take period breaks from sitting for long stretches. Set aside a few minutes to walk away from your desk at work. Take a lap around the office to give your body a break. The body’s natural instinct is to be in movement, and taking breaks at different intervals throughout your work day allows for your body to recuperate from the damage of sitting down all day.
These small steps (literally and metaphorically) allow for you to battle the hidden triggers of back pain at work, including if you need help with lumbar disk herniation. You won’t look silly for these innocuous stretches, and you’ll be smart enough to combat the pain before it manifests to a larger problem.