Notes from an Osteopath: Three stretches for Bloggers

Today the lovely Micaela from Life in Lilac and her husband Vlad, who is an Osteopath. Have kindly come together to write a post for me sharing some exercises which will be a huge help for those of us who are sat behind a desk at the computer every day.

Just like desk-workers in an office, bloggers can spend many hours sitting at a desk hunched over a keyboard or laptop working away and not realising the damage they may be doing to themselves until they get up and move around to discover aches and pains that weren’t there before.

Unfortunately both my day job (digital marketing consultant) and running my own lifestyle blog Life in Lilac has seen me fall foul of this very issue and despite my husband being an Osteopath and giving me lots of advice on how to make improvements to my workspace I still sit for hours at a desk and experience neck/shoulder strain on a regular basis.

I also suffer from repetitive strain in my right wrist which can make typing and using a mouse super painful for me.

Today my husband, Vlad, is going to share with you three stretches which bloggers can easily do during the day as a way of giving muscles some relief from the arduous task of being in one position for a long time.

Please note these exercises are not a substitute for medical advice. If you experience prolonged pain I urge you to seek qualified medical advice from an Osteopath, Physical Therapist or your GP.

Thigh Glide Exercise

When we sit at a desk try as we might we can’t keep an upright posture at all times so everyone ends up slouching a little bit (or alot!)

As a result, our thoracic spine (between shoulder blades) doesn’t move as well as it should or could.

What this means for the neck is that it has to be overused in order for you to still get on with your daily activities.

This simple exercise introduces some normal movement back into the thoracic spine which then restores the normal balance between the neck and the spine.

1. Sit slightly upright and place palms on your thighs.
2. Whilst facing forwards (do not turn the neck) glide your right hand forward and the left hand backwards at the same time, twisting your spine. Hold for a count of one and return hands to neutral position.
3. Repeat step two, this time moving your right hand backwards and your left hand forwards towards the knee.

It is recommended that you do this exercise one second for every minute spent slouching at a desk eg: if you have spent 30 minutes slouched at the desk spend 30 seconds doing the thigh glide exercise.

Scalene Stretch

Most of my desk-bound patients come to me complaining of neck pain and tightness in the upper shoulder which is associated with tight scalene muscles.

Stretching these muscles has helped every single one of my patients so I would certainly recommend it as a preventative measure to anyone who sits at a desk for long periods of time and especially if you find your muscles are tight when attempting this stretch.

1. Whilst seated in an upright position simply reach with your right hand over the top of your head and place on the left temple.
2. Gently pull your head and neck down towards the right shoulder, hold for 2 seconds.
3. With the head tilted point your nose slightly towards the floor until you feel the stretch in the posterior scalene, hold for 2 seconds.
4. With the head tilted point your nose slightly towards the ceiling until you feel the stretch in the anterior scalene, hold for 2 seconds.
5. Once you have experienced all three versions of this stretch choose the one which feels the tightest, repeat and hold for 30 seconds.
6. Repeat steps one to five this time reaching your left hand over the top of your head and place on the right temple.

Please note make sure you only hold one version of the stretch for 30 seconds at a time ie: stretch to the floor in the morning, stretch to the ceiling in the evening. Performing all three at once is likely to result in discomfort.

Chin Tuck

The chin tuck is aimed at stretching the back of the neck and strengthening the muscles at the front of the neck which are often weak because desk workers are constantly craning their necks forwards towards a screen which is often not at the optimal height.

The chin tuck action is the reverse of craning and reduces muscle imbalances in the neck and improves posture.

1. Starting in a neutral position facing forwards without looking up or down bring the head back as if you are trying to give yourself a double chin and then relax your muscles to bring your head back to neutral.
2. You can use this exercise in two different ways, either
   a.To stretch the cervical erector spinae hold the backwards position for 30 seconds
   b.To strengthening in the deep neck flexors do 30 repetitions of 1-second holds.

This is a more advanced exercise best-taught face to face but to make sure you’re getting it right check out this video tutorial, or head over to this post from Two Plus Dogs to learn more ways to exercise at home.

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