Desk massage ideas for working professionals
How many hours each day do you spend sitting at a desk while working at a computer? How many more do you spend holding a phone or tablet in your hands, tapping away at it? For many working professionals, the amount of sedentary screen time in our daily existence is disturbingly high.
As many of us know, our muscles don’t typically react too well to the long hours we spend seated, contorting our hands and arms on keyboards and other devices.
If all that fatigue and soreness wasn’t bad enough, it’s become worse for people currently facing elevated levels of stress because of the COVID-19 pandemic, sub-standard ergonomic conditions in their work-from-home environment, or both.
If you’re feeling stressed and sore, you can find relief with simple self-massage treatment techniques. Besides relieving pain and tension in your head, neck, shoulders, forearms, wrists, and feet, these desk massage ideas will also increase circulation, boost your mental alertness, and reduce stress.
How to massage your own head
Begin by putting your thumbs on your cheekbones, just next to your ears. Use your fingers (as many as you feel comfortable) to massage your temples, making small, circular motions gently. Maintain the motion while slowly moving your hands together until they meet in the middle of your forehead.
How to massage your neck and shoulders
First, lower and relax your shoulders, so they’re not hunched up, and tuck your chin into your chest to stretch your neck. Next, take the first two fingers of each hand and reach over your shoulder on the same side, placing them at the base of the neck (where it meets the shoulders) with firm, steady pressure. Count to five or ten, release the pressure, then slowly roll your shoulders forward and backward. Repeat as necessary.
Self-Hand Massage How to
A hand massage is especially important for people whose fingers constantly peck at phones and keyboards. Open your hand and lightly rest your wrist on a tennis ball. Begin by gently rolling the ball up and down your wrist. Next, move your hand so the fleshy lower part of the palm rests on the ball, and gently rolls it from side to side.
How to relieve pain in the forearm
Typing and texting are also tough on forearm muscles. Give them some relief by resting one arm and hand, palm up, on your thigh and knee. Next, use the fleshy heel of your opposite palm to push down and move slowly forward along your forearm towards the wrist. The amount of pressure should be enough that you feel it, but not so strong that it burns or hurts. Keep pushing all the way over the wrist and to the fingertips. Repeat as necessary, then switch arms.
Techniques for self-foot massage
A tennis ball can also help give your feet a quick massage. Take off your shoes and, if you can, your socks, too. Put the tennis ball beneath one foot and roll it back and forth and side to side. If you discover tension points, increase the pressure, and roll the ball in small circles in that area to help relieve pain. For those that suffer from plantar fasciitis, you can roll the soles of your feet over a frozen water bottle to help soothe inflammation and pain.
Follow these tips for quick, at-home relief. For a more in-depth, expert massage therapy experience within a welcoming atmosphere, contact your nearest Massage Experts location.
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