10 X 10 Team Building Fun at Celtic Careers – 10 Min Massage

Mar 28

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The Dangers of a Sedentary Job

It's a scary realisation to think of how many hours of our lives we spend sitting at our desks. We were made for moving! Prolonged periods of inactivity can affect our body's metabolism and impair its ability to regulate blood pressure, break down fat and control blood sugar levels. Not only that but a sedentary lifestyle also appears to have a negative impact on our mental well-being. One study with over 10,000 participants by a Spanish University, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, showed that those with a sedentary lifestyle and lack of physical activity displayed a higher risk of developing a mental health disorder, particularly depression. All of this is enough to make you sit up and pay attention.But before you forget those stats and slouch back into your chair... let's talk ergonomics. Bad posture at the desk is a massive culprit when it comes to back and neck problems. You may be nodding in agreement (if you haven't got a crick) Very often, we shift ourselves to accommodate our workstation instead of the other way around. For instance, many people strain to see a computer monitor that is too far away, too low, too high, too small or too dim. This compromises good posture. Keep in mind that the average human head weighs almost 12 pounds (5.4 kilograms) — the equivalent of a bowling ball! When your neck is bent to 45 degrees, your head exerts nearly 50 pounds (23 kilograms) of force on your neck. In addition to straining joints and muscles in your neck and shoulders, the pressure affects your breathing and mood.So if you are a 9-5er in an office, what can you do about it? and what does all this have to do with massage? Well, the solutions are probably common sense but people getting into a habit of doing them is less common. Move! Get up, stretch, go out for a short walk at lunchtime, walk to chat to a colleague instead of IMing or emailing. As soon as you get into the habit of just moving more, you will feel the benefits. As regards to ergonomics and the cruciality of putting your body at ease throughout the long working day, check out the image below for a quick overview of the angles to consider at your desk.

Ergonomics - Get into the habit of sitting correctly to avoid back, neck and multiple other injuries

Massage

According to the Mayo Clinic, massage has proven to be an effective treatment for reducing stress, pain and muscle tension, and let's face it, office life brings those symptoms in abundance. Some studies have also found that massage can help people suffering from anxiety, headaches, digestive disorders, sports injuries, joint pain, fibromyalgia, and lower back pain. Having suffered from neck and headaches for over 6 years, which were as a result of a combination of poor posture at the desk and a build-up of stress, I gained a huge appreciation for massage therapy in alleviating the pain. Last year, I decided to take up a course in holistic massage therapy and recently earned a diploma in it. Armed with this, I decided to treat my colleagues to a 10-minute head, neck and shoulder massage as part of our team building activity this week. All colleagues were delighted to get their shoulders tenderised and soothed while they typed away. Sharing an outside skill as a gift to your colleagues is a great way for the team to bond as it got everyone chatting about ailments, sharing stories and bonding. massage