Mark Perren-Jones from the Haven Spa and Health Clinic

Here are the most important stretches you should be doing if you use a computer and the ones you should completely avoid! We all spend way too much time on computers these days so it’s important to know what stretches to do to ease neck tension and back pain. I will teach you what are the essential stretches and proper ergonomics at your work station.

Ok, first of all it’s absolutely vital to have proper posture or you can do all the stretching in the world and it won’t make a lick of difference. This is one of the major mistakes many people make.  There are so many people that go to the gym, yoga, Pilates, do stretches, and do hundreds of sit-ups or ball exercises only to find themselves still suffering from back pain. If you are one of these people and want to know more read my article why does my neck hurt to find out why you may still suffer, to understand the causes and know how to fix them.

We all know that we should be taking regular breaks and normally we don’t so obviously trying to do this will be of great benefit not only for your body but also to refresh your mind.

When you are at a computer in a sitting position the hip flexors (the front of your hips) become chronically shortened so it’s a must to stretch these out. If you don’t, not only can you suffer from back pain at your workstation but also it may then hurt when you have to stand for extended periods of time. If these hip flexors are chronically shortened enough it can also be painful for people to sleep on their backs or on their stomachs. Also, we need to address stretching out the neck, back and chest. This is because many people tend to slouch and the pectoral (chest) muscles also become chronically shortened and pull the shoulders forwards. This can then lead to shoulder problems. You may never have thought your shoulder problems could come from having tight chest muscles but it’s very common and very commonly overlooked. And finally we have the neck muscles to stretch. We need to stretch out the trapezius muscles. However, once you have stretched out these muscles its imperative that you go back to your workstation and resume good posture.

You want to do these stretches hour or so. It’s important to be able to take these breaks for body and mind. You don’t want to be doing neck stretches like putting your chin to your chest because these muscles are generally already overstretched from poor posture ( chin jutting forwards-for more on this see ‘why does my neck hurt?’) and also you don’t need to be bringing knees to you chest, touching your toes, curling up into a ball or other stretches like these because they all put too much pressure on your lower discs and don’t stretch the muscles that are tightest-they don’t get to the muscles that need to be stretched! Also, don’t stretch your arm across your body as these stretch the backs of your shoulders which don’t normally need to be stretched because you are already over stretched at the back of the shoulders.

I will explain more about this in another post but for now here are the stretches you need to be doing.

The hips-the good, the bad and the ugly

the good…

• From a standing position place one foot back behind you in a comfortably wide stance. Make sure you keep the back foot facing forward, do not let it turn out. You may have to look at the back foot to check because it can feel like its straight when its not.
• Bend your front knee so that your front shin is vertical, this will put your weight through your ankle and protect your knee.
• Bend both knees a little and allow the back heel to come off the ground.
• Make sure your hips are facing forwards
• Ensure that your back is upright and not leaning forwards
• Your weight should be placed evenly between both feet
• You MUST tuck your backside underneath you by using your abdominals to lift your beltline up. ( a pelvic tilt)This decreases the arch in your lower back which will then give you a stretch through the front of your back thigh.
• Hold for 15 seconds and change sides
• Relax, breathe, smile and enjoy
• Do this several times per day to stretch out the front hip especially if you are sitting a lot ( who doesn’t these days)

…the bad and the ugly

• bending the front knee too much which stresses the front knee
• turning the back foot out
• arching the lower back
• leaning the body forwards over the front leg instead of being vertical
• allowing the front knee to fall inwards, keep your shin vertical
• forgetting to relax, breathe, smile and enjoy

the chest-the good the bad and the ugly

The good…

• Stand facing a wall and place your hand on the wall with your elbow about shoulder height
• Now turn your body and feet away from the wall feeling a stretch through the front of your chest, not the back of the shoulder
• Make sure your shoulder is relaxed and down
• Keep your chin in and your hip tucked under so that you don’t overarch your back
• Hold for 15 seconds and change sides
• Remember to breathe, relax, smile and enjoy

…The bad and the ugly

• Letting your shoulder pinch at the back rather than feel the stretch at the front
• Hunching your shoulders up
• Jutting your head forwards and over arching your lower back
• Leaning your upper back backwards-(keep back vertical using your abdominals)
• Forgetting to breathe, relax, smile and enjoy

Option 2:

The Stick Up-the good, the bad and the ugly

The good…

• Stand in a doorway and place both forearms on either side, elbows at shoulder height( like in a stick-up position)
• Place one foot in front of the other
• Keep your chin in and your hip tucked under using your abdominals so that your don’t overarch your back
• Move your weight forward to feel a stretch through the front of your chest
• Keep your shoulders down and relaxed
• Hold for 15 seconds
• Remember to breathe, relax, smile and enjoy

…the bad and the ugly

• Allowing your shoulders to pinch at the backs
• Jutting your chin forward
• Overarching your back rather than tucking the hip under by using your abdominals
• Hunching your shoulders
• Forgetting to breathe, relax, smile and enjoy

Option 3:

Hands behind head-the good, the bad and the ugly

…the good

• Place your hands behind your head
• Pull your elbows back to get a stretch through the front of your chest
• Keep your chin in and your hip tucked under using your abdominals so that your don’t overarch your back
• Keep your shoulders down and relaxed
• Hold for 15 seconds
• Remember to breathe, relax, smile and enjoy

…the bad and the ugly

• Allowing your shoulders to pinch at the backs
• Jutting your chin forward
• Overarching your back rather than tucking the hip under by using your abdominals
• Hunching your shoulders
• Forgetting to breathe, relax, smile and enjoy

The neck

• stand upright and put your right hand behind your back trying to touch your left buttock
• Tilt your head to the left trying to touch your left ear to your left shoulder. keep your head straight( you may want to do this in front to a mirror first to see that you are doing it correctly)
• slide your left hand down the side of your left leg
• Do not lean forward or back and don’t let your head come forward.
• If you want to enhance this stretch, cross your right foot over your left foot and gently push your hips to the right. this will stretch you from your lower back all the way to your neck
• Remember, with all stretches you only want to feel a gentle stretch not ‘no pain, no gain’. Hold for 20 seconds.
• Be careful as this is also an exercise in achieving good balance with your legs crossed over.
• Enjoy!

Filed under: Exercises