Working from Home | Exercise

During these unprecedented times, those of us lucky enough to still be working will probably find ourselves spending more time sitting at home. It is more important than ever for us all to stay active and injury free during this time.

Scroll down to see some simple stretches and exercises you can try at home. No equipment needed & let us know how you get on!

It is unlikely that we will have a similar setup to that which we have at work, as we make do in our home environment.

We have laptops, unergonomic chairs, kitchen islands that our legs won't fit under, kids, cats, dogs that demand our attention now we're suddenly available.

Try and maintain some resemblance of your work station setup, especially if it works for you.

Top of monitor at eye level
Chair tucked under table
Arms supported on arm rests (ideally not on table)
Head upright and relaxed

Even if most of these are achievable, you might still feel discomfort or stiffness in your neck, upper back and shoulders.

Use the advantage of being at home to move regularly, especially these areas every 10-15 minutes. Check out some simple stretches and exercises you can do at home to prevent discomfort building up or any issues arising. See drop down below.

Then punctuate your day e.g. every 90 minutes with more compound movements using your whole body to encourage macro, whole body circulation.

By doing these you can avoid a tightening of muscles and joints, improve awareness of posture, improve blood flow and be less stressed.

Remember, even though we are closed, we still offer virtual physio sessions for whatever isolation injury you might be experiencing.

And to keep you feeling limber and strong, we offer virtual Pilates sessions too! Head to our website to book in for Physio or Pilates.

1 - Upper fibres of traps stretch:

Start in a seated position. Place the hand on the left side under your chair.
Take your other hand and place it on your head.
Tilt your ear directly down towards your shoulder and hold this position.
You should feel a stretch down the side of your neck.
Repeat on the other side. 3x 30 second holds on right and left. Control breathing and relax into the stretch.

2 - Rhomboid stretch:

Clasp your hands together and hold them in front of your body. Push your arms as far forward as you can whilst rounding your shoulder blades. Gently drop your chin down to your chest. Hold this position while you feel a stretch between your shoulder blades.

3 - Thread the needle:

Start on your hands and knees, with your hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips.
Take one hand off the floor and reach in and through between your other arm and your legs. Allow your body and head to follow, moving your shoulder down towards the floor as your hand reaches through.
You should feel a stretch down your side, your shoulder blade and neck.
Hold this position, and then return to the starting position.
Reach your arm out to the other side, and then up towards the ceiling.
Follow the movement of your hand with your head, twisting in the other direction to look up towards the ceiling. Hold this position, and then repeat the sequence.

4 - Lumbar spine rotation with piriformis stretch

Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
Place the ankle of one leg just above the knee of your other leg.
Maintaining this position, rotate your legs over to the side of your elevated leg.
You should feel a stretch in your buttocks and lower back.
Hold this position. Right and left.

5 - Supine dead bugs

Lie on your back and bring your legs up to table-top position with your hips and knees at 90 degrees. Raise your arms straight up vertically over your head.
Keeping your back flat, lower the opposite arm and leg away from one another towards the floor. Do not allow anything else to move and make sure your back stays flat on the floor.
Return to the start position and repeat with the other pair.

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Posted by

Ed Doe