How to stop your working from home life breaking your body

Do you know that one of the most injury filled jobs in the world is that of the typical office worker, even more so than construction workers or those on oil rigs. Seriously, your desk and chair are literally deadly weapons.

But how is this possible I hear you say? Well it doesn’t take a genius to figure out being locked into a chair and desk not tailored to your specific body type is a recipe for a ton of mobility problems. Take it from someone who has experienced both rounded shoulders and a damaged piriformis muscle (which is ungodly painful and stops you from walking via pressure on the sciatic nerve) that sitting at a desk all day is not what humans were meant to do.

Cases of general work related mobility problems have risen to crazy levels in the last 20 years. Who would have thought that being behind a desk would be so dangerous.

This post is for those who are currently working from home and trying to save their back from destruction. The sooner you start a mobility routine to combat this, the more pain free you will be in life.

So the most obvious starting point is to work on your posture and make this far better when at your desk – no slouching!!. A quick google search will give you the basics on this, but it’s not just about your posture. In experience with my own mobility problems, it also comes down to doing more of the little things everyday to keep your body pain free.

⚠️ Full disclosure: I’m not a doctor and not playing one on the the internet. These are just tips from my own experiences and are in no way any form of medical advice. 👍

Simple techniques to use today

• Get up from your chair every 30 minutes and move around
• Go for a short walk. Even if this is up and down your hallway.
• Implement a simple 5–10 min stretching routine you can deploy several times during the day.

The first two two points are pretty simple to introduce today, but I know some of you will be moaning that you don’t have enough time to complete a stretching routine twice a day – but if you want to be pain free, you’ll make the damn time. You can build your mobility routine to help prevent desk bound injuries with the below movements.

Band pull aparts: Targets your shoulders and will help pull them back to a natural position. All you need is a band or even a towel will work.

Face pulls: Again a great movement for your shoulders and helps to pull them back into place. All you need is band and something to wrap it around.

YWTL: Another staple shoulder joint movement in my routine. You can find a bodyweight only version in the videos below.

Hanging: A super simple and effective stretch for the shoulders, just find a bar and let your arms hang. See videos below for full demo.

You can explore examples of these movements in the videos below.

Don’t forget the lower body

Piriformis release: Grab a lacrosse or tennis ball and get deep into those glute muscles.

Leg to knee cross: Great for your lower back and glutes.

Glute bridge: Key move to keep your hips loose and glutes active.

Squat hold: Just sit in a squat position for 5 minutes. Simple as that.

Downward dog: The classic Yoga move which we’ve all heard of. Do this several times a day and your back/hamstrings will thank you.

More resources for your lower body

What next?

Now you don’t have to do every single one of these movements. Pick a few that work for you and build them into a daily routine and daily being the key word here. Only performing a short mobility drill when you feel pain is useless, we want to work on prevention and the best way to do this is through moving everyday.

Look after yourself

Don’t let your body be broken by the sedentary lifestyle, learn from the content above and put thought into action. Stay pain free and keep moving my friends.

Before you go…

If you like my writing and think “Hey, I’d like to hear more of what this guy has to say” then you’re in luck.

You can subscribe to my weekly newsletter here.