Daily Mobility: Feel Better by having a Mobility Snack
Our modern world has afforded us many comforts: air conditioning, elevators, and our beloved internet. However, it has caused many of us to spend more time seated in front of a computer screen. Office dwellers, commuters, and students are spending more time seated now more than ever. To compound the issues created by being parked in the seated position, we are usually interfacing with a computer screen or a cell phone. All of these activities cause us to drift forward with our head and round forward with our shoulders. You may have even caught yourself right now demonstrating a similar posture as you're reading this.
These unfavorable body positions result in achy lower backs, tight necks and a rounder forward posture. It hurts and leaves us feeling crummy. While our modern lives require us to be on computers and phones, we don't have to hurt. We can take action to feel better. And we can do it right away! Below I'm going to show you three mobility routines (or mobility snacks) that you can implement right now to help fight and mitigate the plights of working in our modern office lifestyle.
Upper Body
We feel our upper body tightness relatively faster than the lower body's tightness. Or at least, I do. The neck muscles, upper traps, and shoulders are notorious for giving us the “I feel like I got hit by a truck” feeling. While those muscle groups are important in understanding why we get tight, they aren't the only culprits. Our chest, lower traps and the muscles in the thoracic area as a whole all play a part in us becoming tighter and less mobile. The good news is that they can all play a part in the solution! But let's first understand what's happening.
While we are seated, we are typically engaged in something in front of us. Whether it be a computer screen, a cell phone or even driving, we are focused on forward activity. Our posture also reaches forward. You may notice your head lurching forward causing your upper back and shoulders to round. After prolonged and consistent exposure, this body position results in the upper traps becoming overactive and other muscles like the chest becoming shortened. This is where the pain and discomfort originate. As the muscles are conditioned to hold these less than optimal states, we begin to experience distress. How can we feel better? Well, we need to counter the static bad posture with mobility drills and stretches that prompt our bodies to return to a harmonious orientation.
Neck Mobility ~ Lay flat on your stomach, place your hands in front of you (think Sphinx position), tuck the chin and begin gently rotating the head from side to side as if you are checking each shoulder. In the same body position, gently lift and tuck the chin up and down.
T-Spines~ In the quadripod position, place one hand on the back of your head and gently lift the elbow upward having the head and thoracic cavity follow. Keep your hips anchored.
V-W’s~ Either standing or kneeling, raise your hands up in the air making a V shape with them. Draw the elbows down to your side pinching your shoulder blades as you create the W shape with your bent arms.
Cat-Cow~ In the quadripod position, raise and lower your back in a controlled fashion. Take a gentle breath with the ascent and descent.
DoorWay Stretch~ Using a doorway, place your hands on the sides of the frame creating a V shape with your arms. Gently lean into the doorway allowing the frame to hold your arms back and creating a stretch through your pectoral muscles.
Lower Body
Lower body tightness has similar qualities to the upper body in the sense that having the body remain in a static position for prolonged periods of time results in some muscles being shortened. However, it differs because while issues are created by muscle being over active in the upper body, in the lower body some muscles become inactive. The glutes, specifically glute medius, become inactive due to prolonged sitting. This is commonly known as “dead butt syndrome” or gluteal amnesia. I know, the name is an eyebrow raiser, but the consequence is muscular inflammation and possible blood flow restriction. Additionally, the seated position causes our hip flexor to be shortened. This muscle starts in our lumbar spine and drapes along our pelvis to attach to our femur. This is how lower back pain from sitting is created. The hip flexors shorten, causing aggravation in the lower back and the glutes, resulting in the largest muscle in our body becoming inactive. Who would have guessed that sitting and doing our jobs could create the perfect storm for lower back pain? Fortunately, there's something we can do about it!
Rocking Groin Stretch~ In the quadripod position, extend one leg straight out to the side of your hip. Rock back and forth gently stretching out the inner thigh of the extended leg.
Hip Swivel~ In the quadrupeds position, cross your ankles. Push into each side of your hip. Think about pushing more to the side where a pocket would fall on your body.
Glute Bridge~ Laying on your back, bend your knees. Lift your hips up by squeezing your glutes and bracing your abs.
Runners Lunge~ From the push-up position, bring your foot up toward your hand opening your hips. Place your foot as close to your hand as possible.
Tall Kneeling~ Having one leg on bent and upright, and the other down and bent (think proposal stance), squeeze the glutes and brace the abs. The stretch should be felt down the front of the thigh.
Whole Body
Your mobility work does not have to be done in segments. I organized the first two sections that way so we could discuss why discomfort was occurring in the body. This last video will be a whole body circuit. The reality is you can pick the exercises that feel most impactful to you and create your own circuit.
Side bends~ In the kneeling stance, reach over the body with one hand and reach to the floor with the other hand. Alternate from side to side creating a stretch down the sides of the body.
Child's Pose~ Starting in the quadripod position, open the knees and allow your hips to drift back towards your ankles. Reach forward with your hands creating a stretch under your arms and down your back.
Half Groiner~ From the push-up position, bring your foot up toward your hand opening your hips. Place your foot as close to your hand as possible. On the side with the leg reaching toward the hand, rotate your torso upward reaching with your arm.