3 Simple Desk Exercises

Here are a few simple desk exercises that you can perform at work or at home!

Upper Traps (Neck/Upper Back)

The upper traps muscle may get tight due to stress or bad posture (the elevation of the shoulder associated with bad workplace ergonomics).
Start by doing this simple exercise:

1. Sit on your right palm to create an anchor point.
2. Tilt your head towards your left shoulder.
3. If you need more resistance use your left hand to pull your head towards your left shoulder.
4. Breathe deeply into the belly through your nose and breathe out from the mouth. Feel your trap muscle relax.
5. Hold for 30secs to 1min. *** Please do not hold your breath. ***

Front of Neck

We often feel like the back of our neck is “strained or tight”.  One of the cause of this strained feeling is the tightening / shortening of our front neck muscles, which in turn leads to the back neck muscles being overworked.
Start by doing this simple exercise:

1. Place your palms together and use your fingers to push your chin up slightly towards the celling.
2. Turn your head to the left.
3. Turn your head to the right.
4. Breathe deeply into your belly through your nose and breathe out through the mouth. Feel the muscle relax.
5. Hold it for 30secs to 1min. ***Please do not hold your breath. ***

Arms

Ever get pain on the outside or the inside of the elbow joint when using your phone in the same position for too long? Get wrist pain or a sore forearm after long hours of typing? Do this simple exercise:

1. Extend your right arm to shoulder height
2. Use your left hand to pull the right palm facing towards you gently to feel the stretch on the top part of the forearm
3. Reverse the right palm to face away from you and use the left hand to gently pull the palms back to feel the stretch on the under side of the forearm
4. Breathe deeply into the belly through your nose and breathe out through the mouth. Feel the muscle relax
5. Hold it for 30secs to 1min. ***Please do not hold your breath. ***

If you are currently suffering from chronic pain, we hope these exercises help!

The key to proper treatment is finding the root cause of the issue, instead of simply treating the pain.

At MovementRight, we do that through detailed assessment of the movement that triggers pain. From there, we can pinpoint muscle dysfunction (muscles that are not working properly).

Contact us today to see how we can help you lead a pain-free lifestyle!