Stop Rusting In The Office
It’s been 3 months already since the official end of the home office, online school and distance learning! How is your body feeling now? Last month, we started to hear more and more of our clients complaining about upcoming back pain again, and some patient groups are starting to suffer from foot pain again. Office workers feel their whole body tense up again after work, etc. Here are some self-checks and exercises/stretches you can do to evaluate and solve your current status.
1. Spine mobility check
Sit on a stable chair, and hold a bottle/bag between your legs, then put both hands crossed over your shoulder, now turn your body left and right. Any pain/stiffness in your back?
Here are two exercises to improve your spine mobility.
2. Shoulder-head position check
Is your shoulder or head off from your center of gravity line (like in the picture)?
You may ask your colleague to take a picture of you.
Here is a very good office stretch we can do: please make sure you are pushing your chest forward, not your head.
3. Deep hip muscle stretch
After sitting the whole day in the office, do you feel your feet are turning numb or painful? Try this Figure 4 stretch to release your deep hip muscle, and take pressure away from your sciatic nerve.
Sit stable on a chair, then cross one leg over the other, keep the shin bone as flat as you can, then lean forward, you should feel the stretching pain deep in the hip.
Last but not least, are you still chasing the walking 10,000 steps goal a day? Before you start again, let’s check your gait pattern, so you can make each step count. Checking your walking pattern helps to analyze if you are lifting your knees and moving your feet forward properly.
Maybe you are kicking your legs out, which can potentially hurt your knees and ankles. Some people might as well get low back pain due to an incorrect lower body bio mechanism. All these irregularities can be analyzed by a professional physical therapist.
Do you have further questions or are you curious about your current status? Please come and visit us.