Well they say sitting is the new smoking right? Your muscles certainly agree. Sitting all day prevents your muscles from moving and stretching the way they were meant to! This can lead to tightness which can cause pain when you move, which makes you not want to move and so you tighten up more….see how vicious the cycle can be?
Not only can tightness cause pain but so can muscle imbalance. When we sit at a desk all day we typically have our arms toward- working on a laptop, writing or taking notes. We start to hunch forward and lose our upright posture after a while. This can cause muscles of your back to become over stretched and muscles in your chest and arms to tighten up. This position, of a hunched back, is called kyphosis. Kyphosis can cause pain with shoulder movement, difficulty with standing up tall and even limitations in taking a deep breath.
When your chest muscles are tight and your back muscles are overstretched it can cause your shoulders to roll forward. When our body loses its normal balance and position, joints no longer sit in their ideal position. This causes your shoulder joint to be slightly out of alignment so every time you reach up or out to the side you get a pain. Maybe you notice you're not in pain but simply can't reach up over your head? That could be due to your loss of joint space.
So maybe this sounds like you, or your loved one, or a co worker…what do you do? Stretching and exercise can fix your problems! It is crucial to stretch your anterior muscles (in the front) and strengthen your back muscles to improve your alignment. And this can be simple- Exercise a few times a week and stretching when your working during the day.
The easiest thing to do is focus on your posture. Once an hour squeeze your shoulder blades back 10 times. You should feel like you're sticking your chest out and pinching your shoulder blades together.
Next everytime you go to the bathroom or to your coworkers office hold a doorway for 30 seconds, this will help open your chest.
On your off days doing some strength training to help strengthen the underused muscles in your shoulders and back that don’t get the attention and love they deserve. Download our exercise guide here to help make that work out mindless!
Being consistent with exercise and stretching over the course of weeks to months will help to promote proper muscle balance and improve your posture. This doesn't happen overnight, just like your don't get a six pack after going to the gym for 1 week. Be patient. Your body will thank you!
Keep in mind these exercises are general. A skilled therapist can provide a full assessment to determine exactly where your limitations and weakness are. We can provide exercise, education and manual techniques to improve your symptoms. We come to your home, office, gym ect to make care convenient… We got you!
Baytide Health strives to write blogs that are easy for everyone to understand and feels like you're chatting with a friend. Learning and caring for your body should be easy, convenient….and enjoyable! Specifics questions or suggestions of topics? Send us a message! We write for you!
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