So, you can’t just quit your desk job and take up being an astronaut, but you can hardly stand the pain from sitting in one place all day. What to do? And how does Johnny Cochrane, a massage therapist in Kalispell, MT. know what you’re going through? Because I worked a desk job for 12 years and understand what it’s like to spend 5k on massage and chiropractors over the course of 3 years trying to find relief from my leg and glute discomfort.
Ya know how you get home from the office after sitting all day and hardly have the energy to get anything done around the house? Ya think, “How can I be tired when I really didn’t do anything all day?” Well, as you’ve come to see, all that sitting MAKES you tired. It’s like the law we all studied in junior high science, something about “an object in motion tends to stay in motion” or something to that effect. Our bodies were just not built to sit for 8 hours a day. Your hamstrings are shortened from this position, your back can hurt because your chest muscles are scrunched, and your neck can be compromised from straining forward. Even if you have the most ergonomically correct desk set-up on the planet, your body is PRAYING for the day to be over so it can run, jump, play, and stretch itself as it was intended to do.
So how do you put a band-aid on the situation? One thing I tried was switching chairs frequently. I tried a swiss kneeling chair, an exercise ball chair that were very helpful. Also, getting up and moving around, stretching, and a short walk help greatly. Bending over and touching your toes is the classic hamstring stretch that I recommend, be sure and keep your knees locked. And very important, when you do get home, don’t make the problem worse by continuing to sit for another 4 hours watching tv. Go to the gym, go biking, swimming, chase the spouse around the house, ANYTHING to be active and break the cycle. You’ll find the exercise will help you sleep better, and even though you may be a lil tired when you start, once ya dig in, you’ll start to feel better pretty quick.
Massage therapy can bring a lot of relief to desk workers. I offer chair massage and am available to visit office settings within a 20 mile radius of my massage studio here in Kalispell. Chair massage generally goes for a buck a minute across the globe, but often a wise business owner will pay part or all of the fee for me to bring healing to the workers. Ask your HR department and you may find them to be very receptive to the idea, because they are in pain too!
So now you have some ideas about how to take better care of yourself while you look for another job that doesn’t destroy your body. In the mean time, I feel ya, I understand your pain, and I can facilitate your healing. Thank you for the opportunity to serve, I don’t take it for granted. CHEERS,
JOHNNY C.
