6 weeks ago my neck and shoulders were so tight by 8pm that I couldn’t focus on anything else in the evening, so I started doing a few stretches the second I closed my laptop. Nothing dramatic caused it, just a full day of sitting for work.
What I did, roughly in order:
– Chin tucks against the wall, 10 reps, right when I stand up from the desk
– Shoulder blade squeezes, holding for a count of 5, 3 sets
– A walk around the block before dinner instead of after
– Slow shoulder rolls while the kettle’s boiling
First, the chin tucks made the biggest difference for me. I’ve basically got zero upper body strength right now, so anything that felt like a real workout made me want to quit before I started, but this felt small enough that I actually kept doing it.
Second, timing mattered more than I expected. Doing it the moment I stood up worked way better than waiting until after dinner, because by then I’d already sat back down to knit or scroll my phone and wasn’t getting back up.
Not saying it fixed everything, my shoulders still get tight on bad days, but the evening stiffness that used to make me dread the end of the workday has eased up a lot. Figured I’d share in case anyone else here is stuck at a desk all day too. Sorry for the long post, just wanted to get the details down before I forget them myself.