Working at a computer for long periods of time, without taking a short break, may cause
you to feel some discomfort. When you first feel discomfort, stop what you are doing and
take a few minutes to do the stretches demonstrated in this video.
Each of these stretches focuses on a specific part of the body—the neck and shoulders,
the forearms, and the hands and wrists.
Sit upright in your chair, raise your arms with your elbows bent so that your upper arms
are parallel to the floor, with your fingers pointing towards the ceiling.
Slowly pull your arms back. You should feel your shoulder blades come together.
Hold for a count of five, and then return to the starting position and repeat three times.
Once you have stretched your shoulders and back, the next step is to stretch your neck muscles
First, focus on an object at eye level within your work area
and slowly pull your chin straight back about half way.
Put your index finger on your chin and slowly and gently push and glide the head back and
hold for a count of five.
Keep looking at your object and slowly return back to neutral.
You should feel a gentle stretch in the muscles at the back of your neck.
Repeat this stretch three times
To stretch the muscles and tendons that run along the inside of the forearm, begin by
putting the heels of your hands together with your fingers pointed towards the ceiling,
and forearms parallel to the floor. Keep your hands together and slowly and gently
lower the heels of your hands down slightly. Hold this position for a count of five, and then
bring your hands back up to the starting position. Repeat this stretch three times.
For a more aggressive stretch of the forearm muscles and tendons, first
hold your arms out straight in front of you with your palms facing down.
Make a loose fist with both of your hands. Slowly and gently rotate your fist down towards the floor.
Now, slowly and gently rotate your fist toward the little finger side of your hand.
Hold for a count of five. You should feel a stretch from the topside of the wrist up
to the elbow. Relax and shake out your hands and arms.
Repeat this stretch three times.
To do the finger pull, first hold one arm straight out in front of you,
palm down. Bend your hand at the wrist, fingers pointing
towards the ceiling. With the other hand grasping the entire four
fingers of the outstretched hand, slowly and gently pull the four fingers backwards until
you feel a gentle stretch up the inside of the forearm to the elbow.
Hold for a count of five. Release the fingers and shake out your hand
and arm. Change hands and repeat the stretch.
Perform the stretch on each hand three times.
Hold your arms out in front of you with your palms facing up.
Put your thumb into the base of your palm and cover your thumb with your fingers.
Rotate your fists 1/4 turn towards each other. Slowly and gently rotate the hands down toward
the floor. Hold for a count of five. You should feel
a gentle stretch from the topside of the thumb to the wrist.
Relax and shake out your hands and arms. Repeat this stretch three times.
For more information about stretches in the office and how to set up your office for proper ergonomics
contact your State Fund Loss Prevention Consultant, or go to
www.statefundca.com and go to the Safety & Seminar section of our site.