Occupations are becoming increasingly sedentary, where sitting for the majority of the workday is commonplace. Prolonged sitting has negative effects. Increased sitting time is associated with elevated reports of fatigue, affected mood, high blood pressure, and increased muscle and joint pain (Daneshmandi, Choobineh, Ghaem, & Karimi, 2017). In addition, the prevalence of muscle and joint pain in office workers is between 40-80% (Katz, Amick, Carroll, Hollis, & Fossel, 2000). If you are struggling with aches and pains throughout your workday know you are not alone and there are actions you can take to diminish the symptoms.
Postural exercises along with planned movement times during your workday, can help you counteract the effects of prolonged sitting. The benefits of performing postural exercises daily include:
- Reducing your muscle and joint pain
- Reducing fatigue
- Enhancing your mood
(Kim, Cho, Park, & Yang, 2015)