For many of us, running a business involves spending long hours seated in front of a computer.
And while we may love what we do for a living, day in, day out, our bodies don’t.
Sitting on our backside all day long isn’t just a recipe for increasing the size of our derriere.
Suffering from Tight, Sore Muscles?
A sedentary lifestyle can also cause problems with your muscles and skeletal structure … even if you have taken the trouble to invest in an ergonomic office set up.
Tight muscles are usually painful, but more than that they limit your range of movement and have a negative impact on your body’s overall posture and alignment which can lead to all sorts of problems.
It was no coincidence that not long after I started my own business, I started experiencing pain and stiffness particularly in my neck and shoulders.
6 Ways to Care for your Body (and your Business!)
Since then I have learned a number of natural ways to manage these symptoms instead of popping painkillers, which really only mask the pain rather than provide a solution. Here are my top tips:
- Don’t ever accept pain as normal, or think “I’m just getting older”. Pain is a signal that your body needs some attention.
- Book an appointment with an allied health professional such as a chiropractor, physiotherapist, or podiatrist (surprisingly, while a podiatrist specialises in the feet and lower limbs, they may also be able to assist with chronic back pain!). Your treatment may include manipulation or simple exercises for you to do at home.
- Speaking of exercise, yoga and pilates are also incredibly beneficial for building core strength and flexibility and reducing stress.
- Consider working with a personal trainer. Mine has been a godsend, helping me to incorporate more movement into my workday, so that my muscles don’t seize up from being in the same position for ages. For example, if you wear a Fitbit, every time it buzzes that you haven’t done enough steps that hour, that’s a good time to STOP; stand up; and do some gentle stretches to open up your chest area and alleviate tight muscles.
- Take joint supplements to provide essential nutrients to keep joint cartilage healthy and reduce inflammation.
- And, book in for a remedial or relaxation massage on a regular basis. You deserve it!
When you are in business, there are many demands on your time and your own health and wellbeing can slide to the bottom of the list of priorities.
But without a healthy body, you wouldn’t be able to keep running the business or doing the work you love!
Author: Janet Camilleri is the founder of Front Page Web Writing and has recently been named Australia’s #1 SEO Specialist.
