Sitting All Day? Here’s How to Avoid Stiff Neck & Shoulder Pain

Sitting for too long can easily make you creaky, achy and stiff. Sitting all day long is not only detrimental to overall health and well-being but it can also wreak havoc your posture while taking you close to various health complications like stiff neck, shoulder pains while interfering with your muscles and soft tissues. This further can hamper your day to day activities, affect your sleep and can lead to stress and strain. If you are involved in a sitting job or feel stiffness in your shoulder and neck after a long workday, then here are some easy tips and tricks that you should definitely abide by.

• Create an ergonomic workplace: For all those who are involved in a 9-5 sitting job, creating an ergonomic workplace can do wonders to your stiff neck and shoulder pain. All you have to do is make some changes in your workplace and your posture and you are all set to beat those unnecessary tensions in your muscles. To create an ergonomic workplace, sit on a chair in a comfortable position and make sure that your feet lay flat on the floor while keeping your knees a bit lower than your hips. Keep your back straight and level up your arms to the desk.
• Limit your time: Looking at your screen constantly and working without taking a break can put a strain on your muscles while giving you stiffness and pain. Hold your phone at eye level and take breaks in between while working- you can also follow the 20-20-20 rule to break the screen consistency and to relax your tensed muscles. Try to take breaks, stretch and walk for a while to relax your body.
• Add in some stretches: Stretching is a great way to ease out the pain and stiffness in the body. Add in some stretches to your routine to ease out the tensed muscles. Rolling your shoulders back and forth is one of the great stretches to ease out the shoulder pain. You can also do the neck rolling to strengthen the muscles of your neck and back. Try to keep the stretches gentle if you are suffering from pain already.
• Apply some heat: Applying some heat pressure on the tensed muscles can eliminate the pain while giving you relaxation from the pains and discomforts. You can use a heating pad while sitting and working.
• Exercise regularly: Exercising regularly is one of the great ways to strengthen your muscles while avoiding any pains and discomforts. Indulging in physical workouts regularly for about 30-45 minutes can decrease the risk of various health complications while improving your posture. You can do aerobics, stair workout, cardio, stretching and yoga.

Footnote
Try these above written easy tips to bid adieu to neck stiffness and shoulder pain. Also, incorporate some changes in your lifestyle to prevent such types of pain in the body. Breaking the bad habits like quitting smoking, consuming healthy food and exercising and stretching is quite helpful in preventing any kind of inflammation in the body.