How to Get Mobility in at the Office?
Getting mobility or movement in the office appears to be easy but when you are tasked with work, meetings, computers, or deadlines it can be very difficult. Often times I recommend that you get up out of your chair, walk around or do some various stretches. This is easier said than done so getting some of this myofascial work/mobility work in while seated should be an option for those who have to keep seated. All you are going to need is your desk chair, about 30 seconds to two minutes of our time and some sort of myofascial release ball. In this case, I used a lacrosse ball.
Place the lacrosse ball behind the back. You can do this to multiple areas of the body you may be tight on. Some common areas that are very good to do are the shoulder blade, back of the shoulder, neck, mid back, and lower back. Once the ball is behind you, apply some pressure going backwards into the chair. You want to find an area that is a little tight and tender but at firs it may take some time to discover such a spot. One you have found that area, stay there and continue to press. Sometimes the tenderness will release within a few seconds and other times you may have to repeat this cycle for 2-4 times.
When you compress the ball against a tight muscle be sure to hold it for about 5-30 seconds. If you need more pressure or want to advance this move a bit more, just move your arm, body, neck, head in some various range of motions. Adding movement can really help improve your mobility and get that muscle to stretch more.
Why Mobility?
Mobility is a term we use in the field to help describe movement. It really just means going through a range of motion. This includes muscles, joints, tendons, ligaments and proper mobility and movement is critical for good joint mechanics and prevention of injury. Most injuries occur over a long duration of time are those that have joint mechanic dysfunctions that lead to wearing down of the joint and of course pain. Pain is typically the last signal you will receive and you cannot always feel your mechanics being altered.
We know sitting and prolonged poor postures, while good for work, may not be the best on our body so it is advised that we move often and move well. Taking breaks, adding movement drills, walking, and changing it up in the office is important for injury prevention and getting out of pain. Keep in mind, you sit driving to work, sit at work, sit driving back from work, sit again at lunch, dinner, and you sit down to relax. All this sitting so you need to add movement to counteract it.