Finding Relief from Neck and Back Pain

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Editor's Note: While the article by Bara Vaida of NPR is aimed at people who are still working and have desk jobs, the idea of giving attention to breaks throughout the day to do some simple experiences is good advice for retirees as well, especially if you have a sedentary lifestyle. Following this brief excerpt is a link to the full article, which contains instructions for each exercise and numerous links to additional information.

After staring at a computer screen for hours at a time, the body often gives us a clue that it is stressed: nagging neck and back pain.

To fix the problem, you might have gotten advice to focus on posture or ergonomics, but exercise research points to another strategy as well – taking short spurts of movement throughout the day to release tension and stress in the body.

"As a society, the assumption is that we have pain because of poor posture and slouching," says Kienan O'Sullivan, an associate professor of physiotherapy at the University of Limerick's School of Allied Health in Ireland. "But [the issue] isn't as neat and tidy as we thought. We have been trying all these fixes [with ergonomics] and it has arguably not fixed the problem. I think it is more about needing breaks from the working day with ... movement."

Here's how researchers think quick hits of movement – sometimes called exercise "snacks" – may help prevent pain. When the brain senses physical or emotional stress, the body releases hormones that trigger muscles to become guarded and tight. Exercise counters that stress response by increasing blood flow to muscles, tendons and ligaments and sending nutrients to the spine's joints and discs.

Fitness specialists at NASA, an agency where people work in high-stress seated positions, developed a set of 20 one-minute exercises to prevent pain that anyone can do at their desk. We've chosen five here for you to try.

Following are illustrations of each, with a link to the full article at the bottom of the page so you can get the full instructions.

     

The exercises and captions included are adapted from NASA's DeskFit program, created by the NASA Headquarters Fitness Center team, Tanya Johnson, Marceleus Venable, and Kimber Williams.

Bara Vaida is a Washington, D.C.-based freelance health care journalist and a yoga teacher.

Read the full article by Bara Vaida on the NPR website.