Take frequent breaks to relax your neck and shoulder muscles
Highlights
- Take frequent breaks to reduce stress
- Eat healthy snacks while working to prevent digestive issues
- Stretching exercises can help reduce neck and shoulder pain
Sitting all day with eyes on the screen and hands on the keyboard can be tiring. Sitting in one place without any break can cause strain in the eyes as well as muscle. Many experience back pain and pain in shoulder and neck. These can cause trouble while sleeping as well as reduce your efficiency. To avoid these you need to follow certain precautions. One of the effective ways is exercise. You can perform some simple exercises at your desk to reduce the strain on the muscles. Regular exercise will reduce pain as well as give you a refreshing break.
Dr. Thirumalesh K Reddy is a Senior Consultant, Joint Replacement and Arthroscopic surgery, shares some simple exercises that you can perform at your workstation.
Neck and shoulder exercises you can perform at your desk
1. Turn your head left and keep it there for 2 seconds. Repeat this for the other side. Perform several repetitions.
2. Slowly tilt your head to your right shoulder to gently stretch the muscles on the left side of your neck. Hold this position for 5 seconds and then, tilt your head to the left side to stretch your other side. Do this twice for each side.
3. Start with the arms bent, hands near the chest area, and push elbows back. Hold for 5 seconds and relax. Repeat several times. You can also raise arms in the same way, this time close to the shoulders, to work out the upper back.
Performing simple exercises can help reduce stress
Photo Credit: iStock
4. Roll shoulders slowly in a circular fashion and take about 5 seconds to complete one circle. Repeat several times for both clockwise and anticlockwise.
5. Keep one arm horizontally stretched in front of your chest. Push this arm with your other arm towards you until you feel a mild tension in your shoulder. Hold this position briefly. Try with both hands.
6. Hold your hands out in front of you. Slowly raise your fingers and then bring them down to stretch the muscles in the forearm.
7. Make a tight fist. Hold for a second. Then spread your fingers apart as far as you can. Hold for 5 seconds and relax.
Also read: Exercises To Relive Back Pain
(Dr. Thirumalesh K Reddy is a Senior Consultant, Joint Replacement and Arthroscopic Surgery, Aster CMI Hospital)
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