Achy neck and stiff back? There’s no reason to be alone. being in a chair all day can create destruction for your back and neck. Happily, Karena Wu, board-certified clinical specialist in orthopedic physical therapy today joined us to discuss seven easy chair exercises to can help you correct your posture. “Anyone is able to perform these exercises,” Wu explained.
The way you stand is the way you support your body’s position in space. “When we maintain an standing posture, we are exercising our muscles properly and are able to hold our bodies biomechanically in the best way to ensure that our related systems function efficiently,” Wu previously told TODAY.
The most appealing aspect of these pain-reducing exercises? They’re not difficult to do and you can perform them from your chair at work.
1. Placement of Phone
Are you looking to avoid the “text neck?”” Do not look down, it’s not healthy to your neck, and can cause discomfort. When you raise your eyes towards the horizon This also helps correct your posture and posture without triggering any of the specific muscles involved in postural alignment.
How to use it:Holding the phone towards the level of your eyes, putting your elbows towards your side (not much further in the front). Most people don’t know how to do this without being instructed on how to rest their arms in a comfortable position.
2. Pigeon Neck
Are you sitting or standing in a straight position with your neck properly aligned? This small change will correct your posture and position in space.
How to get this:Pull the head backward into space until the head is aligned over the body.
3. Shoulder Rolls
Shoulder rolls can help bring some flexibility into the shoulder blades prior to activating the muscles of the shoulder blade to keep them back and forward as in exercise no. 4.
How to practice It:Sit with your arms sitting comfortably by your side or resting on your lap. Move your shoulders forwards, upwards, back and down to loosen the neck and the upper middle back muscles.
4. Shoulder Blade Activation
Alongside shoulder muscles, this exercise is also helps to strengthen those muscles that are located between shoulder blades, namely the rhomboids.
How to perform It:Sitting with arms up in the 90/90 (hands up) posture (hands raised). Press the shoulder blades back to draw your shoulder blades back to the rib cage toward the spine.
5. Middle Back Extension/Backward Bending
This is an excellent exercise to correct the spine in flexion or backward bend.
How to perform the exercise:Start with hands clasped behind your head, bent elbows and forward. Turn the spine forwards, reversing the curve forward of the middle back.
6. Chest Stretch/Nerve Glide
This is a large muscles and nerve stretch that extends from the torso up towards the fingertips.
How to perform the exercise:Sitting with hands straight out in front, palms facing each other. Bend your hands backwards and then pull them backwards to the side behind the torso, allowing them to expand the chest and arms, and the nerves running across the arm. For a return, bend your hands in the direction of forward motion and then pull arms forward, returning to the position from which you started.
7. Seat the Cat or Cow (Slouch Overcorrect)
This is an spinal flexibility exercise. It helps get the muscles and joints moving when you’ve been all day in a sedentary posture.
How to get it done:Sit with feet shoulder wide apart, hands resting between your knees. Letting yourself slide back in the low back (like the way we sit in unbalanced posture!) by tucking your tailbone in. Then, extend your tailbone and make an arch in your spine and then expand your head and chest back.
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