Neck, Shoulder and Back Pain from sitting still?

When you sit down for long periods of time do you feel discomfort in your neck, shoulder and or back? Sitting still for 6, 8 plus hours a day isn’t great, and I can almost guarantee that either your neck, shoulders or back doesn’t feel great by the end.

Fortunately, you are not alone, your brain is picking up on signals from your body telling you its uncomfortable and wants to move. In this article we will go through an evidence-based approach on how you can help rid yourself of neck, shoulder, and back discomfort through a few quick movements!

Posture

You have probably been told to sit upright, with spine neutral and chest out, how did that feel? Probably not too great and before you knew it, you are sitting in your regular posture.

Unfortunately, there is no “perfect posture” that will rid you of the discomfort that sitting down for prolonged periods of time causes. Even if we study people who might adopt positions labelled as “poor” or “bad”, they don’t seem to be predictive of pain compared to their “good comparisons”. This does not mean I am promoting “bad” posture, the message is to stay moving and take frequent breaks!

Take frequent breaks and move

There is nothing inherently wrong with sitting, it is the lack of movement that proves to be detrimental. The best way to reduce the negative effects of sitting still for prolonged periods of time is by incorporating some movement breaks into your day.

Now if you are like the rest of us, you probably don’t want to bust out Push Ups or Jumping Jacks in the middle of the office, though maybe you do? But assuming you do not, here are some movements you can do without moving far from your desk in under 5 minutes.

These movements will help reduce discomfort in the neck, shoulders and back by stretching and strengthening the muscles opposite to what you sit in.

Suffering from lower back pain? Learn the causes and fixes here!

You do not have to perform all these exercises, pick and choose which ones feel best for you and try to do them for at least 2 sets for 30 to 60 seconds for a stretch and 2 sets of 10 to 15 repetitions for an exercise.

5 best office stretches and exercises for neck, shoulder and back pain!

1) Lateral Neck Stretch

How: With one arm behind the back slowly bend the head to one side, bringing the ear to the towards the shoulder with both shoulders remaining still.

Feel: You should feel this through the opposite side of the neck to the side the head is tilted. Providing a light stretch through the lateral side of the neck and upper trap.

2) Doorway stretch: Pec Major Stretch

How: Using a wall, or door, place your hand on the wall to create a 90-degree angle at your elbow. Aim to have your elbow at shoulder height and your hand above head height. Start the stretch by leaning your body forward and rotating your chest away from your arm.

Feel: You should feel a stretch in your front of your chest (pecs) and the front of your shoulder. You should not feel any pins and needles or numbness in your arm or hand if you do, try lowering the height of your arm.

3) Shoulder Flexion Stretch - wall support

How: Place your hands against the wall at shoulder level. Hinge at your hips, bring your body forward and down while keeping your hands against the wall. Keep your head in a neutral position. If the shoulder elevation is too uncomfortable, change the width and height of your arms and go gently within your comfort level.

Feel: You should feel this in the mid back and shoulder area.

4) Chest Opener

How: Sit on the edge of your chair with hands behind your head, with elbows in and chin down (tucked) breath in as you sit up taking your elbows apart while squeezing the shoulder blades together. Breath out as you go back down with elbows forward.

Feel: You should feel a stretch through your pecs (chest) and front of your shoulder and a light squeeze (contraction) between your shoulder blades.

5) Bilateral Shoulder External Rotation

How: Using a resistance band, keep your elbows at your side, focus on spreading the arms as far as you can while pulling the band apart. Focus on the movement starting from the shoulder blades with the arms following.

Feel: You should feel this through the inside of the shoulder blade (Mid to upper back) and lightly behind the shoulders.

Take away message

The biggest message here is that there is no “perfect posture” that will eliminate, shoulder or back pain when sitting still for long periods of time. Though taking frequent movement breaks can help relieve pain and discomfort.

If you are interested in how to further reduce neck, shoulder and back pain from postural habits and prevent the pain from re occurring, get in contact and I would love to have a chat.

If you have read this far, hopefully you have taken away a few helpful facts. Perhaps you may know someone who may also benefit from this? I'd love it if you were able to share this to them, so they can also gain some benefit or inspiration to use movement and exercise to gain control over their everyday pain.

Suffering from lower back pain? Learn the causes and fixes here!