Stretching

By: Jeanette Rupar, LMT, BCTMB

Last week I talked a bit about how posture throughout the day can affect your muscles. What if I told you that doing something as simple as stretching can really make a difference in how your muscles feel at the end of your day?

Normal every day things we don’t even think about can make muscles tighten up and cause soreness and stiffness. Stretching can help counteract these everyday activities and keep muscles from tightening up too much.

But… But… I don’t want to stretch at work, or while I’m walking!! People are going to see me and I”m going to look stupid!!

I”m here to tell you that it’s ok to stretch when you need to. Stretching during the day at work can be a nice break from, well, work, both physically and mentally (because who doesn’t need mental breaks at work).

Don’t know what to do? There are some amazing stretches out there that can help keep things moving throughout the day.

Arms:

Wrist circles are amazing to help keep the wrists limber. This is as simple as it sounds. Make circles with your wrists. You can make the circles with thumb going towards each other, or away from each other.

Forearm flexion and extension can help stretch those forearms. For flexion: From a neutral position (hand is in a straight line with forearm), you are going to bring your hands down so that your fingers are pointing to the ground. For extension: Again, from a neutral position, point your hands up so that fingers are pointing at the ceiling. You can add to this stretch by using one hand to put slight pressure on each stretch.

Rolling the shoulders is a great stretch. It is simple to do, can be done both forward and backwards, and helps keep shoulders feeling so sore throughout the day.

Neck:

Neck can be stretched forward (chin to chest) and back (look to the sky). It can also go from side to side (bringing the head towards your shoulder). An extra stretch can be added in with the side to side by taking the hand of the side you are stretching to, and pressing slightly toward your shoulder (please do not add too much, your muscles won’t be happy about that).

Trunk Stretches: Trunk stretches are amazing because it can get whole groups of muscles without much effort.

Side Bends: With arms raised overhead, bend to one one side (hold), and then bend over to the other side (and hold).

Twists: With your whole trunk, twist your body to look towards one side, and then the other. For an extra stretch, place the hand from the side opposite of the way you are twisting/looking and twist a bit more.

These are just a few stretches that can be done easy enough throughout the day at your desk or wherever you are. There are definitely many other stretches (that can be found online). Personal trainers and Physical Therapists can also give you more stretches if you are looking for more in depth ways to stretch your body!