It's Monday morning, the start of your work week. You have put the final touch to this big report, prepared for this imminent presentation. But it is likely that there is one aspect of the work for which you are not ready: the marathon to sit at your office all day.
It's time to start training. Because although this is not make news, she repeats himself: prolonged office work can lead to a crowd of musculoskeletal problemsBoring ailments and injury pain.
Even if your workspace is ergonomically correct – and even if you do exercise regularly in free time – excessive work work (considered three or four continuous hours) can cause narrow and weakened muscles, joint stiffness, inflammation in muscles and tendons and tight fascia (connective tissue). Add everything, and the result is generally a certain level of discomfort.
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Laisée untreated, stressed and unplugged muscles can cause painful soft tissue problems, such as tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome, as well as chronic lower back pain. You can also become at risk of bombing or herni discs, pinched nerves and other problems.
Office work can also lead to biomechanical imbalances. The weakened buttocks of the sitting position, for example, can cause stress on the knees and the lower back; Tired hip flexors can change the pelvic movement, causing low back pain.
What is worrying to see sitting for work is both increasing and can put us in danger for others Serious health problemssaid Stella Volpe, president of the American College of Sports Medicine.
“We know that there are now more Americans who have sedentary jobs than ever in the past,” says Volpe. “The more we sit down, the more risk we are diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease. “”
Blame our misfortunes linked to the place on the advent of furniture, says David RaichlenAn evolving USC biologist who studies sedentary behavior and exercise.
Before the chairs with a back and the arm started as a symbol of status among the ancient Egyptians about 5,000 years ago, he said that humans were mainly kneeling or squatting for about 2 million years. These restful postures require light muscle activity, but when the body is fully supported by a chair or a sofa, it deactivates this activity in the parts of the body supported by furniture, says Raichlen. Prolonged inactivity can then lead to muscle atrophy and other problems.
“From an evolutionary point of view, the human body has not yet adapted to furniture,” explains Raichlen. “He never had to face the completely inactive muscles for long periods until very recently.”
But the good news is that you can train for long -distance sessions at your office by developing your neck, your cakes, the lower back, even your feet and your toes. These “exercise snacks”, as caused by them, do not require a trip to the gymnasium, the equipment, or even a lot of time.
They are not supposed to replace regular exercise, but they – if they do regularly – prepare your body for the challenge which is office work by stretching and strengthening your muscles, removing the pressure from your joints and reducing stiffness and inflammation in the region – which can reduce the pain and prevent new injuries.
“We are designed to be hunter-gatherers, not to move your fingers on a keyboard for eight hours in a row,” explains Dr Joshua T. GoldmanA UCLA sports medicine doctor. “We must strengthen force, for endurance purposes, to help these parts of the body to tolerate this activity.”
“The human body has not yet adapted to furniture. He never had to face the completely inactive muscles for long periods until very recently. ”
– David Raichlen, an evolutionary biologist of the USC
We spoke to physiologists of the exercise, doctors in sports medicine, personal coaches, physiotherapists and others to design a short five -minute exercise routine for six key regions of the body. We will deploy a routine per week – starting with the head and neck – for six weeks, until you have a complete body training.
Each exercise is deliberately simple, intended to take 30 to 60 seconds. And each routine lasts about five minutes or less in total. They are ideally carried out throughout the day, in order to promote mobility and traffic, to bring blood flow and nutrients to muscles and tendons, and to increasing lubrication in the joints. Define a timer. Take a five -minute break to run a routine. Then go back to work.
Still too busy? Do only one exercise, for 30 to 60 seconds, then continue to work. If you spend a routine at the end of the day, consider it a victory. Focus on a different routine the next day.
“Everything addresses,” explains Volpe. “Our society often thinks that if you do not run a marathon, you don't do enough. But the additive effect is always good for you. ”
A routine for your head and neck
The neck is a common area in which to develop pain from office work. Looking at a computer instructor, we often get forward forward rather than resuming our chin, as we should. This pushes our cervical column by alignment and creates an excess of stress on the bones and discs of the cervical column. It shortens and tightens the neck muscles, which can cause pain and cause tension headaches.
Do these exercises to help you stretch and strengthen the muscles that support your head and neck. They are demonstrated by coach Melissa Gunn, of Pure Strength La, whose team leads to office employees on how to protect their bodies thanks to the exercise.
- Tell your hands behind your head and gently slide your chin to your chest. Hold 10 seconds. Do five times.
- Slowly tilt your head to the left, bringing your ear to your shoulder. Keep for 10 seconds, then slowly go back to the starting point. Switch the sides. Make three times on each side. To increase stretching, after bringing your ear to your shoulder and holding, turn your head and look at your armpits on the same side, then go back to the starting position.
- Place your back flat against a wall and hold your feet about eight inches from the wall, with slightly folded knees. Your arms should rinse against the wall, with palms oriented outwards. Return your chin lightly and push your head gently against the wall. Slide your arms on the wall, as if he was making a snow angel. Go as far as you can with your arms and hands rinse against the wall. Stop when they start to move away from the wall – usually when the palms are between the height of the shoulders and the height of the head. Do 10 times.
- Stand straight and align your head, shoulders, hips and ankles-most people rushed forward without knowing it, creating static tension there, so consciously remove your head so that it is above your shoulders. Slowly roll your head in a circle, first on the left, in the direction of the needles of a watch, all around; Then on the right, in the antihorarous sense. Do 3 times on each side.
- Stand straight and align your head, shoulders, hips and ankles. Your arms must be next to you and your palms turned outwards. Then pull your arms back but no further than the rear pockets of your pants – without lifting your shoulders – and attract your shoulder blades together. Hold on for 2 to 5 seconds. Make 5 to 10 times.
(The exercises came from Dr Joshua T. GoldmanUCLA SPORTS Medicine; Melissa GunnPure force; Tom Hendrickx,, Physiotherapy pivot; Vanessa Martinez Kercher, Indiana University-Blooomington, School of Public Health; Nico PronkHealth Partners Institute; Niki SaccarecciaLight inside yoga.)
