We all know that sitting for long periods, whether it's in the car, at your desk or on the sofa, can make us stiffen up. Which is why in my post on how to sit correctly I said that even if you are sitting with perfect posture you still need to make sure that you get up and MOVE.
As general advice, telling you to get up and move is about as helpful as telling someone who's looking to lose a few pounds to eat less. It might be right, it's just obvious and not very helpful. My goal today is to be a bit more helpful and to give you a few key tips and tricks that are easy to remember (and do) AND will help to keep you working better, without having to stop and do 20 minutes of yoga every hour.
Stretching vs. Mobilisation
(1:01) But before we do, we need to get our vocabulary right. Now there is a difference between stretching and mobilisation.
Mobilisation is taking muscles and joints through their normal range of motion.
Stretching is taking muscles and joints to the end of their normal range of motion, and then pushing them to go further.
Now, other than occasions when an area needs to be completely immobilised, splinted or put in a cast, then mobilisation is almost always useful and positive. Stretching can be very useful if done properly and at the right times, but it can be bad if done incorrectly or at the wrong times. Especially if there is already pain. If there is pain, you don’t want to keep pulling on it and make it worse. If you are in pain, you need to get that under control first! For some advice on how best to do that, check out my blog on using Heat or Ice.
So, be mindful to to push things. What we are after is mobilisation.
(1:47) Now, good news and bad news.
The bad news is that you DO have to do something EVERY HOUR and that getting up and going for a wander around isn't going to cut it.
The good news is that what you DO need to do is actually very EASY and takes seconds to do.
For the Basic part of it, you don't even HAVE to get out of your seat, but it does work better if you do. Now, you may be a bit worried about doing these exercises at work and everyone thinking that you've finally lost it, but chances are they are fully aware that you're as mad as a box of frogs and have been for quite some time, so embrace it. Go with it. We have had several patients who have come back and told us that other people in their office have started joining in and now everyone does it every hour, which is great!
So! The three things we are trying to achieve are:
1. Interrupt the being still
2. Get EVERYTHING moving
3. Get the best result as swiftly and as easily as possible
Sound good? Excellent!
Point One; Interrupt being still.
(3:08) Fortunately, this is quite easy. My big note on this point is about frequency; It should be done EVERY HOUR! It doesn't take long when done correctly, but half an hour of activity at the end of a full day of sitting still does not work nearly as well as 7 minutes of quality mobilisation spread throughout the day. The longer you are still for the more some of your joints and muscles will become tighter and tighter and stiffer and stiffer, but some, especially your core muscles can get weaker and weaker and end up causing other problems. If you want to see the easy, two-minute exercise that I recommend to my patients to build strong core muscles, check out my post on core exercises. For the muscles that get tighter and stiffer from sitting for too long, this needs to be interrupted and reset, and the best way to do that is little and often. BEFORE it stiffens up a lot more.
Point Two; Get EVERYTHING moving
(3:51) The biggest pitfall people fall into is thinking that activity and mobility are the same. They're not. Going for a good, half-hour walk at lunchtime is activity, and a great idea, but it actually does very little for mobility. Especially spinal mobility. Like we said, Mobility is where you move more of your muscles and joints through fuller ranges of motion, and a walk just isn't going to do that. Don't get me wrong, activity is ALSO important and necessary, but our goal HERE is to get EVERYTHING moving.
Last point; Get the best result as swiftly and as easily as possible
(4:41) Very few of us have the freedom to do 20 minutes of yoga every hour. We all have busy lives full of jobs we need to get done, so we need a way to achieve steps one and two with the best results, but without having to spend too much of our precious time or energy. We want a way to get as much bang for our buck as we can. The mobilisations I've put together for you aim to do just that
So, here they are.
There are 3 levels for you; Basic, Intermediate and Advanced.
Let's start with the Basics.
(5:19) Technically, this Basic one can be done sitting, at a pinch, but standing is definitely more effective.
First, we want to take your spine through full ranges of motion in all planes of motion, forwards and backwards, side to side and rotation. And we want to get shoulders involved too.
Raise your arms over your head and turn your hands so your palms face behind you as reach up and hold for a second. Then stretch your arms out to the sides, turn your palms upwards, lift your chest and arch backwards. If you've ever seen the way a high jumper arches their back over the bar, that is what we're aiming for.
Now forwards. Sweep your arms up overhead, before curling your spine forwards, segment by segment, vertebra by vertebra, trying to keep the movement in your spine and not hinging from your hips. At the bottom, for a little extra you can reach down a little further with one hand and then the other a couple of times. This can get a nice little stretch through some of the muscles on the side of your lumbar spine. Then, slowly and carefully curl back upright again.
Sideways. Like a ballerina, one arm overhead as you lean down towards the opposite side, then repeat towards the other side.
Rotation. Hold your elbows with your arms crossed in front of you then twist your upper body from one side to the other. Don't let your hips twist. Make sure the movement comes from your spine.
And that's it for the basic level. Very easy. Very effective. Takes seconds.
Intermediate
(7:02) (This one will HAVE to be done standing I'm afraid) A lot of people come to us with sciatic type symptoms and the Intermediate level helps to mobilise the areas that can tighten up and lead to buttock pain and pain down the back of the leg.
Lift one leg up, grab around the front of the knee and pull the leg up towards your chest to get a nice little stretch through the glutes. Next, grab the ankle of the raised leg with the hand on the same side and pull your heel back to your bum, keeping your body upright and your hips pushed gently forward to stretch through your quads and hip flexors. Very important when you have sitting, especially in cars or on low sofas. Finally, drop that leg down and put your foot about a foot out in front of you. Lift your toes up and lean your body forward and bum back to get a stretch through your calf and hamstrings. This can be very tight on some people so remember not to force anything. Repeat with the other leg
Now for the Advanced one!
(8:07) Sit in a deep squat. There are so many structures, through knees, hips and spine that LOVE this position. Toddlers seem able to do this so easily and naturally, but as we get older we get out of the habit. If you find this difficult or painful anywhere, run it past your Chiropractor, but most of the time holding onto something sturdy whilst you sit back and relax in this position is a great way of slowly improving, and it is definitely worth the effort! If you're feeling good down in this position, have a little wiggle of your hips and a bounce, just for fun!
And that's about it! It may take a little time and practice to start with, but once you have got it down, then you can go from standing up, run through this whole routine and back to sitting again in less than 30 seconds! And four minutes of mobilisation spread over an 8-hour working day is not a big investment. Especially given the improvements you will see from it! And if you want to take it a step further, check out my blog on how to build strong core muscles for that simple, 2-minute exercise that my patients find astonishingly effective!
Remember, the difference between mobilisation and stretching. Both are useful but need to be used in the right way at the right time. For greater clarification and guidance on what you should be doing, how much, when and how often, ask your chiropractor. They will be very happy to help make sure you are getting this right.
But that is all for today. I hope you've learned a little something. Please feel free to refer back to this, share it, or get your whole office to do it with you every hour.
If you have any questions then please get in contact with us and we will do everything we can to give you the help you need.
In the meantime, stay safe, stay well, stay mobile and I'll have more for you soon.