If you are constantly stuck sitting at your desk job at the office, you will probably sooner or later experience some kind of pain in your back. Or maybe you have already experienced such a pain, so you are looking for a way to get rid of it.
Don’t worry, this kind of problem does not instantly mean that you are “old” or that you have some serious problems related to your back. It is completely normal that someone feels uncomfortable after sitting on a chair for more than five or six hours a day, sometimes even more than that. The human body is built to be constantly on the move, walking, running, climbing and uses sitting as a way to rest and quickly return energy back to the muscles. We are not meant to sit idle for hours and hours throughout the day.
However, the reality is that our society has evolved in such a way and most of our jobs require us to work on computers or other types of devices and without any chair, those types of jobs would simply be impossible. So, you are destined to idle at your office because you love your job, but you are still wondering what you can do about the pain or how to prevent it. Look for the best pain management center and click here. You will definitely find the best solution for your pain and experience complete healing.
Well, fortunately, our society as also reached a level of medicine that can prevent most types of diseases, deformities and more. If you are looking for a way to strengthen your back to get rid of the back problems, here are some of our tips about what you should do.
Avoid the bed unless it’s for sleep
While chairs might be one of the main factors why people have so much trouble with necks and backs, resting in bed worsens the situation. A lot of studies have proven that people who are constantly active before or after their office jobs, experience little to no issues while those avoid any kind of activity and use the bed to rest experience a lot more pain.
In other words, if you want to do something about your spine, the solution is to move as much as you can and not to keep it stationary by resting in bed. We recommend that you do some light walks around the neighborhood in the first couple of days and then try out running or maybe harder workouts like bodyweight training or weightlifting.
Activity and exercise
One of the best ways to keep everything in order, your body in good shape and your back straight is to always be active. While daily exercises are always recommended to keep your body healthy, you could get away with enough activity such as walking instead of driving or riding on public transport. Doing these kinds of small changes can do a lot for your body. So, next time you feel lazy and don’t feel like to go for another grocery shopping run, get up and do it, don’t lay in bed. Keep pushing yourself to do as many activities as possible.
Once you have built up the habit to be constantly on your feet you will feel much better regarding your back or neck.
However, if you still feel the consequences of constantly sitting at the desk, then you will have to take some more advanced approach towards the problem. You will have to consider doing a few exercises at the start and then start working towards more and more exercises until you finally alleviate the pain you have been suffering from.
Here are some of the most effective exercises that you can do to increase the strength of your back.
- Rowing
Rowing is one of the best workout equipment that you can use to actively burn calories and to strengthen the muscles in your lower back region. Although, if you do not want to go to the gym every day just for this exercise, you should consider getting yourself a rowing machine that you can set up at home. There are a couple of budget versions if you don’t like spending too much, but there are premium machines that can offer you a lot of different features. Check this if you want to which rowing machines will target the muscles in your back.
- Planks
This exercise can be a bit difficult for people who haven’t had any workout experience before as it takes a lot of abdominal muscles. But, for the first couple of times, you should aim to hold a plank for about 10 seconds. After that, you can start building up endurance and last even longer which will ultimately help you with your pain.
- Crunches
Most popularly known for their effect on abdominal muscles, but they are also effective for the muscles around the lower and upper back.
A good chair and good posture
Now that you finally found out who is the real culprit in this situation, it is time to change that creaky old office chair that you have been using for the last couple of years. You will need to buy yourself a proper ergonomic office chair that will give enough posture to your spine and your head so release a bit of the tension while you are working. Of course, you could also ask your management or your boss to provide you with one because you simply cannot sit in one that continuously ruins your health.
Now that you have gotten yourself a brand new chair, do not expect that everything will magically fix itself. No, you will have to do some work on yourself. You need to start thinking about the way you sit and generally about your posture. You need to pay attention to where you place your legs and whether your feet are flat on the ground. If they are not, you should readjust the height of your chair, so your legs are always at a 90-degree angle.
Avoid slouching your shoulders forward to take the weight of your head off from your neck and keep your back straight. At first, it might be uncomfortable to readjust yourself every single time, but after a while, you will get used to it and you will feel healthier.
