Office Life: A Pain in the Back

Why does a long day behind a desk feel like it’s killing my back? You’re not the only one experiencing office back pain. As it turns out, slouching in a chair all day long can be just as bad for your back as extreme physical exertion. We have poor posture and gravity to thank for this, as it results in lots of stress on your spine.

Beat the office slump… literally

Luckily, you aren’t at the total mercy of the back pain Gods. There are exercises that you can do, both in office and after work, to help get rid of that horrible work-induced back ache. If you aren't sure where to start, as always, we've got your back (pun intended). Just take a look at these easy and office friendly back exercises that we found on DAREBEE for a much happier spine during your work hours. Keep in mind, these are great to get you started, but to make sure your back is in great condition (and to prevent any future problems) the best course of action would be to incorporate physical exercise into your weekly routine. back pain chair exercises

Bitten by the Gym Bug?

Don't sweat it; you don’t actually have to spend every waking hour hitting the gym, but you should definitely try to get into back friendly exercises at least 3 times a week. Pilates classes or even a relaxing yoga practice would be ideal because they are both low intensity activities (meaning you won’t feel completely exhausted afterwards), while all the same time they strengthen your muscles and improve posture. You’ll start feeling results immediately and soon enough the concept of “back pain” is going to feel like a distant memory. In fact, not only will you notice improvements in how your back feels, but your skin will start looking way better. Seems like exercise really is the key to a happy and healthy body.

Back stretching - who's got the time?

Okay, okay... we get that most of you are super busy. But hear us out: if you don’t have the time (or money) to invest into a relaxing group yoga class, you can still find plenty of online tutorials that you can practice from the comfort of your living room. This is a great alternative for people that really can't spare the time that it would take to travel to the gym, take the class, and travel back home. Realistically, we can all set aside 15-20 minutes of our day to get physical. If this idea sounds great, but you're at a loss for where to start, go ahead and check out the image below. These are some great Yoga poses that are amazing for alleviating a sore back. Plus, now if you ever get started with group yoga classes you'll feel like a pro with these 10 basic moves in your back pocket. 10 yoga back pain exercises

Yoga back pain exercise tutorial

For those of you that don't find a static image of exercises to be enough to motivate you, go right on ahead and check out the YouTube channel "Yoga With Adriene". We're sure you'll find a yoga practice that peaks your interest. However, as usual, we've decided to do the hard work for you: click play on the video below and get started with these exercises for your hips and lower back! And remember, even though you're not going for a high intensity workout, you'll still build up a sweat so you definitely won't want to skip your post exercise skincare routine (thank us later). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho9em79_0qg Now that we've given you all the tools you need to get into a routine that should cure all your back pain woes, we expect to hear back from you! Which of the steps above helped you out the most in staving off your sore back? Feel free to leave your comments in the reply section below and let us know how you stay fit when you have to sit around all day.