Life hack for neck and shoulder pain
Often times by sitting at a desk or computer for extended amounts of time, our neck and shoulders can start to experience pain. This is a major problem we see with office workers, so here at Springfield Chiropractic, we’ve come up with five fast life hacks to help ease your pain without leaving the office.
1. Chin Tucks
Chin tucks will help you to keep your head back and tall rather than slouched forwards. Push your head back with your fingers, then move your head towards and push back. Continue this 10 more times.
2. Scapular Activation
For this one, you can remain sitting, but raise your arms up in a star-jump shape. Move your shoulders up and down, keeping this star-jump shape. These will help to relieve pressure on your traps and ease pain. Continue for 10 more times.
3. Posterior Shoulder Exercise
This requires you to stand up in front of a doorway with the door open. Stretch your arms out and think of it like a clock: left arm towards the 9, right towards the 3. Slowly and slightly lean back against the doorway, so that your arms touch the frame. Use your posterior back muscles to push you forward to the starting position. Move back and forth 10 times. If you have pain in other areas, you can also adjust your arm angle to activate other muscles.
4. Pec Stretch
The pec stretch will help to relax and assist the posterior muscles, and will stretch the pecs. You can use the same doorway for this. Put your arms up and elbows at a 90 degree angle, and lean into the frame. Use your pec muscles to hold you up. This will stretch your pecs and push your shoulders back, giving the traps relief.
5. Trap Stretch Each Side
For this stretch, sit upright back at your desk, with an arm behind your back. Use the other arm to wrap over your head and grab. Use your arm to pull our head down, which will stretch the neck muscles. Hold this gently for 30 seconds, and repeat with the other side. Again, you can try different angles to relieve different muscles. This will help stretch the traps out as well.
Click the video down below to see how Springfield chiropractic does these exercises. These should help you stretch your neck and back out, and put your muscles back into place. They will also help with relieving any pains or aches from working and sitting in front of a computer for extended periods of time.’
If you’re in pain and you can’t find any relief, we are here to help. Don’t hesitate to make an appointment with us at Springfield Chiropractic. We’re here to help you get better quickly. Call us today (908) 325 – 3000