Prolonged desk work can lead to musculoskeletal problems ranging from annoying aches and pains to injuries. This month, we launched a six-part series showing you how to stretch and strengthen your body parts to prepare them for marathon sitting sessions at your desk. We’ll roll out a new exercise routine every week, each focusing on a different area of the body, that will help alleviate desk job-related woes.
Last week we published exercises for your hands, wrists, forearms and elbows. This week we’re focusing on your lower back.
To learn more about how sitting affects the body, and why these exercises are important, read our first piece in the series. And you can find the entire series here.
The lower back might be the most common area of complaint for desk workers. Its muscles hold you upright in the same position all day. But overusing them can cause fatigued muscles that can then become inflamed, tight and painful. Often it results in a dull ache. Short movement breaks, even just for 1-2 minutes, are especially important for the lower back, as they release tension and aid circulation.
Do these exercises to help stretch and strengthen your lower back, including your glutes. They’re demonstrated by trainer Melissa Gunn, of Pure Strength LA, whose team trains desk workers on how to protect their bodies through exercise.
(Exercises came from Dr. Joshua T. Goldman, UCLA sports medicine; Melissa Gunn, Pure Strength LA; Tom Hendrickx, Pivot Physical Therapy; Vanessa Martinez Kercher, Indiana University-Bloomington, School of Public Health; Nico Pronk, Health Partners Institute; Niki Saccareccia, Light Inside Yoga.)
