Sitting at a desk working all day tends to cause serious back pain. You can reduce that pain with an adjustable height sit to stand desk, helping you to establish better ergonomics in your workspace. But if you have chronic back pain, you should also consider using massage and other physical activities and therapies to alleviate your pack pain and address the underlying issue. Here are the most popular and useful types of massage and ways to use them to deal with back pain and improve the effectiveness of your standing desk.
1. Self Trapezius Massage ā Neck and Shoulder Relief
Start learning how to administer your own massage so you can integrate that to your micro breaks at work. The shoulders and neck tend to get tight from typing at a computer, which is itself uncomfortable and also leads to discomfort and tightness through the upper back.
Itās a simple massage, best performed while standing. Reach one arm across your chest and place your palm on the trap muscle running from the neck to the shoulder. Simply knead that muscle, starting at the base of the neck and moving outwards, pushing hard enough for a slight, āgood painā to increase blood flow and break up any knots or tightness.
2. Swedish Massage
Swedish massage is the most well-known type of massage in the United States, and a masseuse practiced in this style uses the hands and sometimes elbows to slide, knead, tap, create friction, and vibrate areas of tightness and soreness. They focus on the muscles and connective tissues involved in your back pain, using long strokes and lots of often deep pressure to increase blood flow, break up tight muscle tissue, and increase mobility while reducing joint stiffness in the area.
Deep tissue massage is similar but distinct from Swedish massage, and is typically only used for chronic muscle pain. However, experts use it similarly to Swedish massage to work problem areas and release tension. Itās important to follow this type of massage with proper hydration and physical activity over the following day or two to help the body recover, because soreness often follows a deep massage due to the released lactic acid.
3. Pressure Point Massage
There are a number of types of pressure point massage technique, including reflexology, acupressure, and acupuncture, and various schools of massage apply them. Thai massage, for example, involves a full-body massage in which the masseuse identifies muscles and areas of the body that are tight and uses foot reflexology and localized pressure points to work on that area in combination with stretching.
Western applications of pressure point techniques are also effective, especially when experts apply them to find the nexus of back tightness and pain simply by applying pressure to the perfect point on the back.
Your back pain requires attention or it canāt get better. Our adjustable standing desksĀ can help a great deal with the ergonomics of your office workspace, and with the right massage and treatment, you can take control of your pain and eliminate it.
