Most people are in pain every single day. A lot of the time, the reason for this is because we’re sitting at a desk for hours on end. Bearing that in mind, here are three common issues we get from sitting all day, and how to deal with them:

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Upper Back & Shoulder Pain

I’ve grouped these two areas into one heading because they’re all related. Sitting at a desk all day is the number one cause of upper back and shoulder pain. It causes your shoulders to round, which creates tension in the upper back, particularly between the shoulder blades. Not only does this hurt, but it gives you an awful posture.

Luckily, I have some solutions to free you from pain. You must focus on shifting your shoulders back and making them not round over. To do this, stretch your chest muscles and strengthen your upper back muscles. Tight chest muscles will pull your shoulders forwards. And, if your upper back muscles aren’t working, they can’t keep your shoulder blades pinned back. It’s best to find a physical therapist that can help assign stretches and exercises for you.

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Lower Back Pain

Along with upper back pain, we also get lower back pain. Sitting in a chair all day can lead to tight hip flexors, which play havoc with our lower back. The longer you sit, the worse your back will get. Also, most people sit in a position where they’re arching their lower back. Your butt is pushed back into the chair and your chest if pushed forward. This creates loads of tension on the lumbar spine and leads to back pain.

Thankfully, there are ways to counter this and free you of pain. The first is by massaging your lower back. Massages will get rid of tension and muscle knots, relieving you of pain. There’s a device called Kyrobak that you can help you massage your lower back on your own. If you want to know how it works, then visit Back Pain Relief for more info on Kyrobak. Massage therapy isn’t the only option; you can also do some stretches. Work on stretching those tight hip flexors if you want your back pain to go away. The good thing about stretching is that you can do it throughout the day, while at work.

Knee Pain

Another issue with sitting down all day is that your knees get affected. Again, this is primarily because of your tight hip flexors. Hip tightness can completely mess up your posture, which will mess up your knees. Also, staying in the same position all day can stiffen up your knees. When you eventually get up, your knees feel terrible and you probably hear them click and crack a little. Knee pain can lead to longer lasting issues like arthritis.

To deal with any knee issues, you have a couple of options. If you already have bad knees, then heat packs and a support brace are good options for you. Heat packs will increase the blood flow and ensure they don’t get too stiff. A brace will make your knees hurt less when walking around. To prevent knee pain, simply stand up and walk now and then. Get up throughout the day and stretch your hips or walk around the office.