Give Your Body Some TLC With These Desk Stretches

Encourage your employees to stay healthy and boost productivity

We’re in the midst of a grand work-from-home experiment. When the novel coronavirus started spreading across the U.S., with a stay at home orders in tow, millions of Americans were forced to set up makeshift offices in their homes.

But, what happens when our work routines are so dramatically disrupted?
 

For one thing, we’re relying on at-home workstations that often do not have the proper ergonomic structure. This has exacerbated musculoskeletal conditions that employers already ranked as one of the top conditions impacting their healthcare costs, and pain caused by these issues could dovetail into mental health issues and vice versa. For another, we’ve lost the built-in camaraderie that comes with coffee room chats and water cooler conversations—along with the breaks from our desks and our screens. 

Six months into this public health crisis, it’s clear that working from home has become part of our new normal. Now that we’ve fundamentally shifted where work gets done, we also need to change how we care for our employees. 

While our new stay-at-home, work-from-home world may be far from ideal, it shouldn’t be a reason to put physical health on the back burner. Staying healthy and active will not only benefit your body but also give your brain a mental break. 

Encourage your employees to stay healthy and boost productivity with simple exercises they can do right at their desks.

Stretching is a great way to give your body some Tender loving care (TLC) when you’re tied to a desk all day. With stretching, you can feel refreshed without leaving your desk. Bonus points: You’ll improve your flexibility while giving your brain a mental break.

Here are three desk stretches you can do from your chair:

1. Levator scap: Also known as a neck stretch, you should look towards your underarm, until you feel a stretch on the backside of the neck on the side opposite of the shoulder you are looking at, and hold for thirty seconds. 
2. Chest stretch: Put your hands behind your back, interlace your fingers, and for thirty seconds, push your chest outward with a raised chin. 
3. Upper back stretch: Hold your arms out in front of you with palms faced down. Lower your head between your arms, and round your upper back while looking down for half a minute.

Your chair can do more than be a place to park your butt for eight hours a day. Use that chair to stay fit without leaving your workspace. 

These chair exercises will give your body a break:
 

1. Back twist: Sit in your chair, place your left arm behind your left hip and twist to the left, holding for 10 seconds. Repeat three times on each side.
2. Squats: Stand in front of your chair with your feet shoulder-width apart and squat until you feel your chair.
3. Arm circles: Sit with a straight back, plant your feet on the floor with your knees bent at 90 degrees. Stretch your arms out toward the walls and make circular motions, forward and backward. 

Take a few walking/standing breaks throughout the day? Every hour or so try to change body positions. If possible, stand up and move your body every hour. Even if it's only for a minute.

WebMD notes that a study of call center employees found that workers with standing desks were 45% more productive than their sitting counterparts. You probably know that sitting too much can cause back, hip, and neck pain. But did you know it can also lead to weight gain, and increase your risk for heart disease? Embrace the standing desk trend and switch out your sitting desk for a standing desk. Just make sure to keep the screen at eye level and your elbows bent at 90 degrees. Finally, a good tip for making the transition is to start by using it for 30–60 minutes at a time. 

Ellen Morello is Physera’s Senior Clinical Program Manager where she manages clinical operations of Physera’s nationwide Telehealth Physical Therapy network. She has been practicing telehealth as a physical therapist since 2017. She has been invited to present on telehealth Physical Therapy by the American Physical Therapy Association, American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, American Telemedicine Association, and more. Connect Ellen Morello