Sitting at a desk and working on a computer for extended periods can negatively affect the whole body, cause injuries, and lower work quality. Making postural improvements and stretching prevents injuries and keeps your muscles from getting tired.
With an effective pre-shift stretching program, you can feel your best while working at a computer from home or the office. Here, we will review some of the best stretches for computer users that can be helpful to you, but first, let’s see how an incorrect posture looks.
Bad Posture
A bad posture can lead to computer-related injuries with painful outcomes that will hinder you from working. Stretching can prevent these injuries, but an optimized workstation and good posture are also necessary.
Here are some examples of bad posture:
- The computer is too close or too low, and you have to hunch your neck and shoulders to see the screen
- There is no support for your elbows
- Your wrists are above your elbows, creating an arched angle
- Your lower back is unsupported and hunched over
- Your legs and feet are not parallel with the ground and cause curvature of the lower back and spine
You may notice that you make some or all of these postural mistakes. If that is the case, it’s time to fix your posture and workstation before moving on to stretches that prevent injury.
Correcting Your Posture
Correcting your posture and considering ergonomics during computer use are vital for injury prevention. Without this correction, you will develop musculoskeletal injuries over time that will make the slightest movements painful.
So before you try our list of stretches for computer users, improve your posture to prevent musculoskeletal disorders. Do the following:
- Elevate the screen to your eye level to prevent the need for bending your neck and shoulders. You can do this by placing your laptop on top of a large box.
- Keep the screen at arm’s length to prevent the need for hunching over the keyboard. Stretching prevents this type of injury, but it’s best to avoid hunching altogether.
- Keep your elbows and wrists neutral. Investing in a wireless mouse and keyboard can help with this.
- Bring your chair closer to the desk to eliminate the curvature in your back, and ensure your feet and legs are parallel with the ground.
- Create lumbar support for your lower back by placing a throw pillow behind it.
- Try creating a standing desk by placing your laptop on top of some books over the kitchen island. A standing desk can provide a change of pace. Just remember to keep the monitor at eye level and use a footrest.
Stretches for Computer Users
Combined with a correct posture, workplace exercise and dynamic stretching prevent injury and increase productivity.
Why dynamic?
According to studies, static stretching does not reduce your risk of injury. It can even be harmful to your muscles. On the other hand, dynamic warm-ups and stretches engage all your muscles. They increase your core body temperature to prepare you for physical activities and prolonged work.
You can include some static moves, but your focus should be on dynamic movements. The best time to stretch is before or during work on your breaks. Try taking breaks every 20-30 minutes to let your body recover. Perform some of the following stretching moves to prevent injury.
Arm Circles
Bring your arms straight to the side and circle them forward for 30 seconds. Reverse and move your arms backward for 30 seconds.
Bird-Dog Crunches
Start on your hands and knees. Align your wrists and knees with your shoulders and hips. Extend your right arm and left leg. Hold for 5 seconds, squeeze your abs, and repeat with the other side.
Walking Lunge Twist
Stand with your arms behind your head. Lunge forward with your right leg and go down on your knee. Rotate your upper body toward the other side and repeat with the other leg.
Leg Swings
A simple stretching movement that prevents injury is leg swings. Stand while holding on to a chair and swing your right leg back and forth. Repeat with the other leg.
Combine these dynamic moves with some of these computer and desk stretches for better results/recovery.
Stretch Properly With BIOKINETIX
These dynamic stretches for computer users are effective at preventing injuries. However, you can receive stretching programs tailored to your needs and specific tasks from our workplace injury prevention program.
We have helped hundreds of employees prevent injuries with our stretching programs, and we can help you too. Schedule a demo today to work safely from your computer.
