Dr. Shaun Batte

As many of us are aware, the most common types of injuries are those of the cumulative or repetitive strain origin.  When our job requires us to sit at a desk, we spend a disproportional amount of time favouring a particular body position.  I am not going to get into the nuts of bolts of the muscles (or fascia) that tends to become tight and shortened and the others muscles that tend to become weak and lengthened, but I will provide 5 exercises that are, in my opinion, excellent ways to help prevent the dreaded upper crossed postural syndrome.

Before I show you the stretches, I just wanted to bring to your awareness that there are programs that you can download which cause your computer to go to sleep ever 30 minutes (or whatever time interval you choose).  This forces you to remember to stand up, move and stretch.  This is great for people who get really focused on their work, but can also be disabled for those days when there are deadlines to be met.  www.workrave.com is an example of one such program.

1. Bruegger’s Stretch

Start by moving your bum to the edge of your chair.  Keep your feet shoulder width apart. Your knees and hips should be at 90 degrees each.  Arch your low back and stick your chest up.  Tuck your chin and roll your arms back and reach as far behind you as you can.  Your Thumbs should be pointing straight back and the top of your head should be pointing towards the ceiling.  Hold for 20-30 seconds.

Keep reading the “The 5 Best Stretches For When Your Stuck In The Office!” post…