In these difficult times of COVID, everyone’s sitting at their desk right now for eight to 10+ hours a day. There is a high chance that you feel a twinge of discomfort somewhere in your lower back or your neck and shoulders get stiff by mid-afternoon. This may be a sign of prolonged sitting at one place and its adverse effect on your body. However, a poor posture can also be a reason for this pain. A poor posture causing back pain is a result of years of neglect and importance to one’s posture and the only way to reverse it is by adding some posture exercises for back pain to one’s schedule.
We’ve all heard about the importance of good and proper posture. It’s good for your muscles, bones, balance, internal organs, and effective in decreasing back pain. Poor posture and a weak core are two of the main causes of back pain which is often hard to avoid while spending a lot of time at a desk. This is exactly why one needs to be well-versed with some good posture exercises which can even be done on your desk.
We’ve created three types of posture exercises: Seated exercises, standing exercises, and floor exercises. These exercises focus on strengthening the upper back to keep the shoulders pulled back and prevent slouching and stretching exercises to open up the front side of the body, especially the chest.
The Exercises For Back Pain Are As Follows
1. Reverse High Five
Stand straight, shrug your shoulders upwards and then relax to get them down. Turn the palms of your hands to face the back of the room. Stretch and press the hands back as if you’re trying to give someone a double high five. Pulse this movement 10 times and then relax.
2. Chest Opener
Clasp your hands behind your back to stretch the front of the body and push down towards the ground while stretching the arms away from the back of your body. Stretch to open your chest and lift your head up to feel the stretch properly. Hold this for 5 breaths and then release it. These posture exercises are perfect for the ones sitting behind the desk! You can sit in your office in an upright chair and perform these stretching exercises, just there.
3. Goalpost Squeeze
Sit upright and lift your arms up into a goalpost position by bending your elbows at an angle of 90 degrees while doing the same with your shoulders. Relax your shoulders down and then pull the elbows towards the backside of the room. Imagine that you’re squeezing a pebble in between your shoulder blades.
Release and repeat this 10 times.
Also Read: What Is A Frozen Shoulder? And The Best Exercises For Frozen Shoulder
4. Armpit Opener – Posture Exercises For Back pain
Reach the arms out to the sides and up and overhead so as to open your chest. Clasp your hands at the top. After that, stretch the arms up and bend the elbows towards the backside of the room to stretch the armpits and chest. Hold it for a breath and then straighten the arms back up.
Repeat this 10 times.
5. Mini Cobra
Place your hands flat on the ground under your shoulders while lying down on your stomach. Squeeze your inner thighs together and pull your navel in towards your spine. Rest the forehead down on the ground. Pretend that you’re pushing a pebble forward with your nose and bring your head forward and up, as you press down through your palms of your hands to lift your shoulders and chest up off the ground. Keep your elbows bent. Squeeze your shoulder blades together to work your upper back even more than before. Then slowly lower your back down to the ground resting your forehead down.
Repeat this exercise 10 times.
6. Arm Roll Stretch – Posture Exercises For Back pain
Reach your right arm out to the right, directly in line with your shoulder while lying down on your stomach. Place your left hand on the ground under your left shoulder and gently use it to push your body to the right towards the right arm while the right arm remains on the ground. For stabilization, you can bend your left knee and place your left foot flat on the ground behind your right knee. Hold this for 30 seconds. Feel the stretch in the chest and in the right armpit. Repeat this process for the left side.
Also Read: Work From Home Killing Your Neck? Do These Exercises For Neck Pain
These are some of the easiest and most effective posture Exercises For Back Pains out there. A good posture not only helps you in lessening your back pain but also helps you in regaining that confidence due to a more straight and confident-looking stance it provides.