In the current scenario, most of us are in a sedentary style of working. There is no fixed time for eating, sleeping, reaching work, pushing off from work, anything really because we are in the digital freedom age. Every day, we follow a constant ritual of staring at our desktop monitors or laptop screens for hours and hours together. This leads to stiffness in the muscles or general neck pain.

Almost 1 in every 5 employed individual suffers from neck pain, lower back pain or the aggravated version, which is cervical.

Time and again, health experts, physiotherapists and yoga gurus have emphasised on simple and easy exercises one must follow to relieve any kind of body pain, but honestly, who does it religiously? Or who has that kind of time? Mostly, we prefer tolerating the pain until it gets unbearable, and then there is no way but to visit a doctor.

Don’t wait till you are writhing in pain, here are 5 easy exercises you must follow at work.

1. Stretching

Stretching is like warm up exercise. Irrespective of whether you follow any other exercise other than this, stretching helps to loosen up your body and soothe your muscles. Every half an hour or so, stretch your arms, and roll your shoulder to relax your muscles. The more frequently you stretch your muscles, the lesser they get stiff.

2. Neck Rotation

Rotating your neck clockwise and anticlockwise is the easiest remedy to begin with. You can be comfortably seated at your desk and gently rotate your neck around 7-8 times. If you are under immense pain, be very careful while rotating your neck.

3. Walk A Bit

Sitting in the same position locks your muscles and moreover, it’s uncomfortable. Whenever possible, take a walk around the floor or maybe a stroll around the building, it re-energize your body and prevents your muscles from stiffening. One will have to do this consciously.

4. Close Your Eyes And Follow The 20-20-20 Rule 

Out of all the physical issues one might have, eye care is often neglected. Working on desktops and laptops for anywhere between 8-10 hours on a daily basis leaves your eyes dry and stressful. Just follow the 20-20-20 rule that we spoke about in one of our previous articles. The rule clearly says, every 20 minutes, you must stare at anything which is 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

5. Massage Your Muscles

Physical exertion can be controlled with regular massages. Other than neck exercises and stretching, massaging also helps in relaxing muscles. Whenever possible, massage your shoulder muscles and neck muscles in a not-so-harsh-way. You can do it yourself or have a colleague do it for you.

And Everything Comes Down To This: Eating Healthy

This is not really an exercise, but it has been extensively talked about forever. Because the ground reality is one must keep the internal system healthy in order to be physically healthy. Don’t rely on junk and caffeine excessively. They are quick fixes but can’t be staples on our diet menu. Carry fruits, salads or drink juices to stay healthy internally. Also, canteen food cannot be safe all the time, so try to carry homemade food.

Try implementing these, they sure work!

Also Read – Abdominal Exercise For The Lazy