Body Mechanics in the Workplace

Do either of these scenarios sound familiar? You wake up one morning and your neck is so stiff you can’t turn your head without pain. Or perhaps you bend down to pick something up that isn’t even that heavy and you feel a pain shooting through your back.

"Back pain is so common that over 80% of us

experience it at some point in our lives."
 

We’re often in the same movement and holding patterns day to day and it seems to be fine until a chain of chronically overused muscles flare up. Sometimes these flare ups present themselves as one very uncomfortable incident but more often than not, it is actually the straw that broke the camel’s (or in this case, your) back.

Unfortunately, back pain is so common that over 80% of us experience it at some point in our lives. The vast majority recover within a few months, but this is quite often pain that can be avoided with good self-care practices.

Why Practice Perfect Posture at Work?

It is easy to slump into our chairs and stayed glued to our seats for hours at a time, but consider how perfecting your posture can help you feel better every day. Being conscientious of your posture throughout the workday helps.

How being mindful helps:

• Bones and joints align properly so that muscles are efficiently and correctly used.
• Minimize wear and tear to joint surfaces and decrease stress on ligaments holding bones together.
• Prevent abnormal holding patterns, especially for the back.
• Prevent strain or overuse issues leading to aches and pains.

It’s easy to assume we know how to sit and stand since we’ve been doing it since we were toddlers, but it can be helpful to learn the most ergonomic way to do so. 

8 ways to improve posture:

• Sit up with your back straight with your buttocks touching the back of your chair and your feet flat onthe floor.
• Bend your knees at a right angle so they are even or slightly higher than your hips.
• Distribute your body weight evenly on both hips and try not to cross your legs.
• We have 3 normal curves in our spine - in our cervical (neck), thoracic (upper-mid) back, and lumbar (lower) back.
• Roll your shoulders down your back to prevent loss of your cervical curve, over-accentuation of the thoracic spine and stress in your low back.
• If your chair does not have good lumbar support, you can roll up a towel or use a small pillow.
• Take a break from sitting as often as you can. Take a stretch short walk to prevent your body from stiffening and fatiguing.
• Try a standing desk, again, with proper posture. Hiking one hip up all day or hunching over the table negates the benefits of standing.

The more we pay attention to our bodies, the more awareness we start building on how we move (and not move) affects us. Starting to go to yoga more regularly was what helped me begin noticing the incongruencies within my own body. Poses balancing on one leg helped make it very obvious how much stronger my right leg, which is my dominant side, was compared to my left.

LoDo Chair Massage offers a desk chair yoga class where an experienced yoga teacher can lead employees through a step-by-step demonstration of simple stretches that can be done throughout the day to give the body some much needed movement. Regular stretching and strengthening makes a noticeable difference in how comfortable and present we feel in our bodies.

Bring Improved Posture and Pain Relief to Your Office:
Give us a call today at 888-673-2535 or get a quick quote online for on-site yoga and massage services!