Home Workstation Setup and Stretches

Setting up your home workstation

In these unusual times, many of us are spending far more time seated at home. Keeping active and avoiding injury is therefore more important than ever.

We have set out a few straightforward ways to help you sit comfortably at your home workstation.

Further down, you will find simple stretches and exercises to try at home. No equipment is required, and we would love to hear how you get on.

Your home setup is unlikely to match the one you use at work, as we all have to adapt to our living environment.

There may be laptops, non-ergonomic chairs, kitchen islands with no room for your legs, as well as children, cats and dogs demanding attention now that you are suddenly around.

Where possible, try to recreate the elements of your usual workstation setup, particularly if it works well for you.

• Position the top of your monitor at eye level.
• Sit facing forwards, rather than twisting or leaning.
• Keep your shoulders lowered and relaxed.
• Tuck your chair beneath the table, with both feet flat on the floor.
• Support your arms on the armrests, ideally rather than the table.
• Keep your head upright and relaxed.

Preventing discomfort while working from home

Even if you can achieve most of this setup, you may still experience stiffness or discomfort in your neck, upper back and shoulders.

Take advantage of being at home by moving regularly with a micro-pause, especially for these areas, every 10–15 minutes. Try the simple at-home stretches and exercises below to help stop discomfort from building up and prevent problems developing.

Break up your day further, for example every 90 minutes, with larger movements involving your whole body to promote wider, full-body circulation.

These movements can help prevent your muscles and joints from tightening, increase your posture awareness, improve blood flow and reduce stress.

Although we are closed, we continue to provide virtual physio sessions for any isolation injury you may be experiencing.

To help you stay supple and strong, virtual Pilates sessions are also available. Visit our website to book Physio or Pilates.

Home stretches and exercises

1 – Upper fibres of traps stretch:

Begin seated. Secure the hand on your left side beneath your chair, then place your other hand on your head.

Bring your ear straight down towards your shoulder and hold the position.

You should notice a stretch along the side of your neck.

Repeat on the opposite side. Complete 3 x 30-second holds on both the right and left. Breathe in a controlled way and relax into the stretch.

2 – Rhomboid stretch:

Interlock your hands and hold them in front of your body. Reach your arms forwards as far as possible while rounding your shoulder blades. Carefully lower your chin towards your chest. Hold the stretch between your shoulder blades.

3 – Thread the needle:

Start on all fours, placing your hands beneath your shoulders and your knees beneath your hips.

Lift one hand from the floor and reach it inwards and through the gap between your other arm and legs. Let your torso and head follow the movement, lowering your shoulder towards the floor as your hand reaches through.

You should feel a stretch along your side, around your shoulder blade and in your neck.

Hold this position before returning to the start.

Reach your arm towards the opposite side, then extend it up towards the ceiling.

Let your head follow your hand, rotating in the other direction to look towards the ceiling. Hold the position, then repeat the sequence.

4 – Lumbar spine rotation with piriformis stretch

Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.

Rest the ankle of one leg just above the knee of the other leg.

Keeping this position, rotate both legs towards the side of the raised leg.

You should feel a stretch through your buttocks and lower back.

Hold the position on both the right and left sides.

5 – Supine dead bugs

Lie on your back and lift your legs into a tabletop position, with your hips and knees at 90 degrees. Extend your arms vertically above your head.

Keeping your back flat against the floor, lower the opposite arm and leg away from each other towards the ground. Do not let any other part of your body move, and ensure your back remains flat on the floor.

Return to the starting position, then repeat using the other arm and leg.

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