Office Exercises: Computer Related Neck And Shoulder Pain Solutions

40 plus hours per week spent sitting in an uncomfortable office chair, straining your neck to stare at a screen will take its toll on even the fittest individual. With more and more emphasis being put on technology and the Internet in offices, and an ever expanding network of worldwide contacts, if you have any type of desk based job, it’s highly likely you’re glued to your screen from nine ‘til five, Monday to Friday for the 45 years of your working life.

Bad posture can only lead to one thing – pain.

Many folks complain of lower back and hip pain from prolonged periods of sitting in front of a screen, but neck and shoulder pain is a real issue too. Not only is treatment and pain management crucial, but preventing pain in the first place is huge – when you’re pain free, you want to stay that way, so don’t leave it too late to tackle your potential neck and shoulder pain.

Computer Related Neck Pain Exercises

Surprisingly, the first place you should look when suffering from neck pain is your lower back. Poor posture, hip or spinal misalignment and lower back issues can alter the posture of your whole body. This pain effectively travels up your body until it reaches your neck, and suddenly, you have chronic neck pain.

Planks:

Glute bridge:

Lower back exercises:

You may also need to consult a sports therapist or physio to find if there are any other underlying causes that may be contributing to your neck pain.

Another simple way to get rid of your neck pain is to take regular breaks. Just one to two minutes away from the screen can greatly reduce the strain on the muscles around your neck and far from meaning you lose precious work time, actually means you’ll more likely work harder and be more productive when you’re not distracted by neck pain. Checking your posture to make sure you’re not craning your neck forward is a goo tactic too.

As for the actual exercises you can do to increase strength, your neck is a fairly delicate area, so you need to go steady.

Start by simply tilting your head to put your left ear as close as you can to your left shoulder. Hold this for two to three seconds, to the point where you can feel a strain, but not pain, then put your head back into a neutral position. Repeat this with your right ear toward your right shoulder. Do the same thing but tilting your head forward and putting your chin to your chest, then lifting your neck back and looking up. The critical things to remember here are to always take your head back to a relaxed position in the middle between each position, and never to perform circular motions.

Neck exercises and stretches: 

Once you’re skilled in all of these, add a little resistance. You really don’t need much and actually your own hand will provide enough, plus this allows you to vary the level of tension. If you’re really looking to push things forward, have a colleague hold a small hand towel around your forehead while you do the movements to provide a little more resistance.

Computer Related Shoulder Pain Exercises

The same general guidelines apply when it comes to dealing with shoulder stress.

Make sure your work station is set up correctly, take regular breaks and try not to strain when looking at your computer.

Shoulder pain is commonly associated with poor posture – usually a combination of tight chest muscles and weak upper back muscles. So first up, stretch your chest. Do this by standing in a doorway, placing your forearms either side and leaning forward until you feel a stretch across your chest. Try for a 20 second hold three to five times per day.

The grand daddy of shoulder pain exercises is the band pull apart. You’ll need a resistance band for this, but they’re relatively inexpensive and can be kept hassle-free in your desk drawer.

Grab the band with both hands and a shoulder width grip and hold it out in front of you at chest height with straight arms. Pull the band apart by squeezing your shoulder blades together and keep going until the band lightly touches your chest. Pause briefly, then bring your hands in again. Do a set of 20 reps, then go back to what you were doing. Aim to do this five times a day, totaling 100 reps and add 10 daily reps each week.

Next up – scapula wall slides

Stand against a clear bit of wall with your heels, butt, back and head touching it, then bring your arms up to shoulder height. Bend your elbows to 90 degrees and make sure your elbows, forearms and the backs of your hands are touching the wall, then slide your hands as high as you can. Do 10 to 15 reps, aiming to progress the range of motion over time.

Band Scapula Retractions

This one takes a little more planning, but is still easily doable in any office. Loop your band around a sturdy upright structure such as a coat rack or hat stand, or better still, tie it around a door handle. Hold the band with both hands and your arms straight in front of you and chest height. Step back until there’s tension on the band, then draw your shoulder blades together and squeeze them hard while keeping your elbows straight. The band won’t move far – a few inches at most, but focus on getting that upper back squeeze.

Band Rows

Stay in the same position as you were for the scapula retractions. This time though, you’re going to bring the band in toward your chest by bending your arms, rather than keeping them straight. You should still squeeze your shoulder blades together, but this brings your arms into the movement too.

For both of the above, use a resistance band that’s challenging for a set of 15 to 20 reps and complete three sets each day.

Computer related neck and shoulder pain needn’t bother you any more with just 10 minutes of in-office training every day.

Shoulder exercises - some of them can be performed in an office: