More Americans are spending their work hours seated than ever before, with fewer than 20% of jobs today involving any level of physical exertion. This sedentary behavior has a pretty immediate effect on your physical condition; muscle degeneration, tightness and strain can lead to the back, neck, and shoulder pain that the American Chiropractic Association reports is experienced by 80% of the population. How can you ease shoulder tension and reestablish proper alignment to avoid pain and damage?
Posture Awareness Tips
Proper seated alignment involves keeping your ears, shoulders and hips in a vertical line. Developing good posture awareness can be as simple as setting reminders, adjusting your chair for better support, or establishing daily habits.
- According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, sitting in a chair with armrests set too high or a seat set too low can cause you to maintain raised shoulders, which can result in muscle tension and fatigue in the neck and shoulders. Adjust your working station to fit your body.
- Setting a reminder hourly to “check in” with your posture is an excellent way to develop the habit of posture awareness in a few moments’ time. When the timer goes off, take in a deep breath, crunch up and then relax your shoulders, letting them drop on the exhale. Repeating this three times will help to ease any shoulder tension you’re holding.
- Practicing proper posture while doing daily activities like walking, brushing teeth, or driving can help to develop the muscle memory needed to quickly recognize the tendency to “shoulder crunch” and to reestablish a neutral position to avoid fatigue.
Yoga Poses to Ease Shoulder Tension
Excessive shoulder tension can cause problems like headaches, muscle spasms, spinal issues, and contribute to poor posture. A common cause of “upward-crunching shoulders” is stress, and there’s no shortage of it in an office setting. The following moves will help ease shoulder tension and provide some calm.
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Neck Stretch
Sit up straight and engage your abdomen. Reach the top of your head upward, aligning your ears over your hips and drop your shoulders. With palms on the lap, take in a deep breath, and on the exhale, gently lower your right ear toward your right shoulder. You can hold this position for a few breaths, or gently nod your head to ease the tightness in the neck muscles. Repeat on the other side.
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Shoulder Blade Squeeze
Place your hands behind your back, palms together, fingers interlaced, with thumbs toward the spine. Inhale, and lift the chest while simultaneously drawing hands down toward the tailbone. Bring the elbows closer together to squeeze the shoulder blades. Hold this for a few breaths and repeat a few times daily.
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Overhead Stretch
Reaching your arms straight above your head, interlace the fingers and flip palms to the ceiling, thumbs forward. While reaching your palms up, pull your shoulders down and away from your ears, hold for a couple breaths. This is a great stretch for the muscles in the shoulders and along the entire spine.
Has your Desk Job Become a Pain in the Neck?
Poor posture can lead to muscle weakness and imbalances that strain your neck, back, and shoulder joints and can result in chronic pain conditions. The professionals at Atlanta Medical Clinic will provide you with a plan to effectively stop the pain and also to heal the injury at its source. Call us today to learn more!