I have a question for you all. The work I do is really bad for my posture so I try to work out both my back and chest to compensate. However there are days like today when I am bent over a light table or work bench for 4-6 hours. I try to stop and stretch but usually find near the end of the day that my middle back is cramping up almost like a charlie horse in that band of muscles right below my shoulder blades. Tonight they were cramping and burning due to two days of this stance. I can't change my work and can't change how I have to stand to do it but would like some advice on what I can do to alleviate the problem. Do you think doing more Superman type exercises would work? Is there some type of yoga thing that might help?

TIA, Beth

I thnk any type of Yoga or stretches would help immensely.... Try stoping to stretch at least every 20 minutes, I think I read that somewhere...

You didn't specify if you were sitting down in this position, but if you are I would recommend standing up every half-hour to stretch because it helps more than sitting to stretch.

I would recommend a resistance band for your back and if you're looking for a short but soothing video check out "Stress Relief Yoga" by Gaiam with Suzanne Deason. It's about 20 minutes and gets me feeling better after a bunch of hours in the classroom (hunched over writing notes) followed by hours of seated desk work.

Hi,

I would definitely try yoga. Some specific stances come to mind that help me with my back/shoulder region:
- Lie on your back, knees to chest with your arms around then, now rock from side to side
- the cobra: lie on yopur stomach & arche up, lightly resting onn your arms
- the downward dog: go on hands & foot, move your centre of gravity backwards& try to stretch your legs
- the plow (but only if I am properly warmed up) lie on your back, now move your legs up & knees next to your ears & then stretch your legs.

It also helps me to lie down & consciously relax those back muscles, taking a lot of time for each one.The same goes for the yoga, it pays to keep the pose quite long.

I use the yoga for dummies DVD & that works quite well for me. The pace is very slow, but that is because she takes the time to show how to do each move and keeps the pose long, which works well for me.

succes!

Rabbit

Even simple things like ....
if you stand to work ... stand with one foot on a phone book, change your shoes
if you sit ... move your chair, does it go up and down, can you roll or move it a few inches side to side?

Thanks for all the advice. I am standing all day. I have good boots designed for standing on cement and have industial rubber matts in my studio area but on long days they don't seem to matter. The muscles feel like I'm doing a day long isometric. I'll try setting a timer to stop every twenty minutes to stretch.

I'll definitely try some yoga and stretching. Last night was so bad all I could do was lay on my back on the corner of the bed with my head and arms hanging off to try to get the cramping to go down. I'm going to try upping my ab exercises too to see if that will help balance out my back having to hold all that weight in once place for so long.

Beth

I'm going to disagree with most of the previous posters. I think yoga would be disasterous for your back right now. I train a few clients whose problems sound exactly like yours- one is a surgeon ( standing, slightly bent over most of the day) and the other works in a medical lab (standing, slightly bent over most of the day.) You probably have a lot of inflammation going on there and the yoga will make it worse until you've healed and strengthed.

My suggestions are
1) ICE your back for 20 minutes each evening when you get home from work. OK, I know this isn't pleasant. Use a bag or two of frozen peas and cover them in a kitchen towel.

2) Avoid exercises that put you in the position that caused the pain in the first place. No bent over rows, no top loaded squats (yet), no impact cardio or plyometics.

3) Work on lower back and ab exercises that don't "bend" you: forget crunches and v-ups, and do planks instead. Hold you abs really tight. If you have access to hanging ab straps or a captain's chair where your back is supported, do those. Strong abs=stronger back. Supermans are good- again, keep your abs tight.

4) Did I mention ICE?

5) Do you have access the cable equipment? If so, do mid-back rows on cables set at chest height. You want to keep you chest out and your abs tight as you pull whatever handles you choose towards your chest. Don't lean into it. That's what causes the problem in the first place. If you don't have cables, get some bands abd hook them on something at chest height to simulate cables.

6) Stay off of balance equipment (bosu balls, wobble boards, balance discs) until all pain is gone. These are great tools for strengthening your core muscles, but if those core muscle (the small muscles of your lower and mid back) are inflamed, they will make the condition worse.

7) ICE after your workout. Ouch...sorry!

8) I agree! Take stretching breaks

Mel

Thanks, Mel.

Yes, it does feel really inflamed and the problem is that I have to stand like that for a few days at a time. Then back to my computer for a few days. It'll never change so I have to figure out how to cope. I like doing the Plank but I'm not sure if I should be doing it on my elbows or straight arm. I usually do straight arm. Also I just started doing side planks. Are these OK to do or should I wait on those until the inflamation goes down? Also straight arm or on elbows?

I will ice it but that does NOT sound fun, LOL. I realized today as I was working that what I'm actually doing: bend and hold for about 2 minutes, stand straight, walk two paces to the right, walk two paces to the left and do it all over again. Would be a great isometric if I only did it for a few minutes not hours!

I'll definitely keep working on my abs as I know stronger abs will help.

Beth