Stop slouching, start stretching!

Easy exercises to do at your computer

By Sharon Oosthoek

Think about how much time you spend at your computer every day and how often you forget to take a break.

Even if you have an ergonomically correct setup, you still need to think about posture and desk exercises. Suzanne Denis, a physiotherapist with Toronto’s Sunnybrook and Women’s College Health Sciences Centre, says people who work at their computers for long hours don’t often appreciate how debilitating it can be.

“Keyboard work isn’t exactly heavy or stressful. The problem is it’s a lot of static load on your muscles. Even in an optimal position, they get fatigued,” says Denis.

Here’s how to loosen your limbs, stretch your back and maintain proper posture.

Take a rest

“Sitting for prolonged periods is not the best thing in the world,” says Denis. “Don’t stay sitting at your desk for more than an hour. A lot of people are reluctant to do that when they get on a binge, but take five minutes.”

What to do: Denis says standing up to file paperwork or talk on the phone gives your body a break and lets you keep working. If you absolutely must work for two hours at a time, make sure you take at least a 10-minute break. “Change your activity and get out of your chair,” she advises.

Rotate your shoulders and neck

Susan Rosenblum, a community development researcher in Waterloo, Ont., works long hours at her computer. She recently suffered from a pinched nerve in her vertebrae and found that neck stretches prescribed by her physiotherapist gave her a great deal of relief.

“These stretches really helped out. Over time the pain was relieved, even though at that very moment I didn’t notice the difference,” she says.

The muscles in your shoulders and neck tend to harbour the most tension, especially during activities such as keyboarding and driving.

What to do: Denis suggests bringing your right ear gently toward your right shoulder while keeping your arms hanging loosely by your sides. Repeat on the left side. Make sure to hold the position for at least 20 seconds to give your muscles a chance to stretch properly.

Another good loosening exercise: stand up, keep your arms at your sides and rotate both shoulders in a complete circle, first moving them forward and up toward the ear, then backward. Press shoulder blades together and down.

“You don’t have to do every stretch every time; just do the one for that specific muscle that’s sore,” Denis says.

Give your back a break

What to do: Denis suggests that you periodically stand up and place the palms of your hands on your lower back or buttocks, then gently lean back, pushing your hips forward. Don’t forget to hold the stretch for at least 20 seconds.

She also recommends a stretch to counteract the rounding of the upper back while working over the keyboard. She calls it the “lying back at the beach” stretch. Take the palms of your hands and support the base of your head, while holding your elbows out from your body. Then lean back in your chair with your whole body, not just your head, and look up at the ceiling. You should feel the stretch across you chest and into your armpits.

Work those hamstrings

What to do: While sitting in your chair, straighten your leg and point your toes back toward your body. The trick to this stretch, says Denis, is to make sure your back is straight and supported by the chair. You should feel the stretch in your hamstrings and your calves. Don’t forget to alternate your legs.

Fingers and wrists

Denis says many of us create tension in our wrists and elbows from gripping the mouse too hard.

What to do: Hold your arm straight out in front and bend your wrist down until your fingers are pointing to the floor. If you want a deeper stretch, take your other hand and place it on the top of your hand and lightly pull back toward your body. You should feel this in the muscles in your wrist and along your forearm.

Denis also recommends loosening the stiffness in your fingers by spreading them apart from each other as far as you can, holding for 10 seconds and then relaxing.

Avert your gaze

When looking straight ahead at a monitor, our eyes are wide open and more eye surface area is exposed to the air’s drying effects. So it’s not surprising that we have problems with dry eyes when we use our computers, says Dr. Joan Hansen, a Tsawwassen, B.C., optometrist. “That’s probably the complaint I hear most often — my eyes are scratchy or irritated,” she says.

Compounding the problem is the fact that when we’re working on the computer we blink on average only five times a minute. We normally blink more than twice that rate — 12 times a minute.

What to do: The Canadian Association of Optometrists (CAO) recommends relieving the discomfort of dry eyes with artificial teardrops. Or, give your eyes a break with the CAO’s 20-20-20 rule — every 20 minutes, refocus your eyes on something at least 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

Dr. Hansen says short exercises to strengthen eye muscles are also helpful. She suggests moving a pen in a wavy or circular pattern in front of your face and following it with your eyes.