This blog post comes straight to you from my many years of sports (my fallback was personal training should the Ph.D. not work out… ). It turned out to be good for something, after all!
- Forearms and Wrists
Rolling your hands, wrists, and forearms on a lacrosse ball can help loosen some of the tightness caused by long typing stints (ouch, but good ouch)
What you can also try is getting down on all fours and turning your hands so that your middle finger points back toward your knees (yes, it looks a bit like you’re possessed). Then try to lean back, stretching your wrist. This can be a tough move if you’re SUPER tight, so don’t push it!
2. Neck and shoulders
Neck circles can relieve some of the tension in the neck and shoulders. Gently draw circles with your nose, starting small and getting big. You may notice some crunching… pay attention to those spots!
3. Lower back
Contrary to what you might think, the key to preventing lower back pain isn’t stretching your back: it’s actually stretching your hamstrings (back of the thigh) and hip flexors (front of the hips). Prolonged sitting shortens and tightens these muscles, which will then pull on your lower back, causing pain. Standard runner’s stretches will really help with this.
Kneel on the floor, and place one foot in front of you. Sit back onto your heel to stretch the hamstring. Lean forward to stretch the front of the hip. Make sure the knee doesn’t go over the toes! Bring your toes forward if you find your knee going beyond the ankle.
4. Eyes
Taking care of your eyes will also REALLY help with preventing tension headaches and migraines. First, take 20 seconds to focus on something far away from you, beyond your computer screen. Then, sketch large figure 8s with your eyes, 4 in each direction. Finally, close your eyes for 20 seconds. These exercises can be a little painful, again, if you’re super tight, so be gentle!
5. And finally…
Drink water. Drink water!!! Please, for the love of god, I beg of you. Drink. more. water. (coffee is not water)