Working at an office for 6 or more hours in a day has become all too common in our modern-day world. Though the work might not be as physically demanding compared to manual labor, you might find yourself in a lot of pain after your shift. Here are common body pains that arise from poor posture and bad habits during work, and some tips to alleviate them.

LOWER BACK PAIN

The most common work-related problem is lower back pain. The occasional pang or ache in your lower back might cause you enough discomfort to stop you from performing 100% at work. Slouching forward or slumping back in your desk and generally, poor posture can cause the discs in your spine to compress and contribute to their premature degeneration.

Here is a trick to quickly relieve tension in your lower back when it appears: Rock your pelvis back and forth while seated on a chair, tilt your hips up and round your back, and then tilt your hips down. This method will easily loosen up your muscles.

WRIST STRAIN

From writing reports to responding to work emails, working at the keyboard or mouse is an important part of office life. However, overuse and bad wrist placement can cause extensive stress to your wrist tendons. This can lead your tendons to become fatigued and inflamed.

Another inconspicuous reason for your wrist pain is poor posture. Having your back hunched forward leads to a decrease in blood flow downstream which includes your hands. This causes soreness and numbness in your hands that can greatly decrease your output.

If you find your wrist straining from work, you can do this quick trick to relieve tension: Place your finger and palms together with finger-pointing upward while holding your arms in front of your chest. Keep your palms together and with your elbows moving out, lower them until you feel your wrist stretching. Hold this position for five seconds.

NECK AND SHOULDER PAIN

No matter where you are or what you do, neck and shoulder pain is something we have all felt before and it is not a good feeling. For those working at their desk or in the office, neck and shoulder pain is caused by placing your keyboard or monitor far away from your desk causing you to hunch forward and throwing your neck and shoulders out of alignment from your spine. Keeping this position for hours on end will cause your muscles and soft tissue to strain.

Having neck and shoulder pain can affect your mood throughout the workday. Thankfully, relieving this tension is easy. With your face forward, tilt your head to the right making sure your ear and shoulder are touching. Hold this for 20 to 60 seconds and then switch to the left and repeat for four to five more times.

EYESTRAIN

Staring at your computer screen for long periods of time is a stressful but necessary and unavoidable part of office work. Having your computer monitor too far or too close to you can both cause problems by having you blink less. This can lead to dry eyes and fatigue.

Health experts suggest that the best way to avoid eye strain is to tear your eyes away from the monitor every 20 minutes and to look at something off in the distance. Do this for 20 to 30 seconds and then return to working. Alternatively, you can take a quick break, step away from your desk and walk around the office and talk with some of your friends.

TIGHT HIPS

A 9 to 5 office job typically means that most of your time there will be spent sitting on your office chair. Being stuck in a bent position for a prolonged amount of time can cause your hip flexors to shorten. These muscles, which are located at the front of your hips, when shortened, can cause a lot of pain. Shortened flexors also contribute to your lower back pain.

The answer to tight hips caused by shortened flexors is simple as it is obvious. By standing up from your desk regularly can give the muscles some rest and needed stretching. This also helps with blood circulation if you do this every 20 to 30 minutes.

There are a lot of ways our work lifestyle can give us health troubles and lingering pain. But if we remember the simple tricks we’ve learned here today, you can ease some of the stress you’ve been feeling and be able to work better and healthier. Of course, you don’t have to do all of these things alone. Physical health is much more rewarding and effective with a team behind you, so consider joining a private gym. At Alchemy Personal Training, our expert personal trainers will guide you in practicing proper form and routines to ensure that you will be free from long-term pain. Whether you are an athlete, or have postural stress caused by office work, with the best Personal Trainers in Wilmslow and Prestbury we can help you prevent those persistent injuries that so often get in the way of performance.