Repetitive Motion Can Cost You Your Job
This might be an unpopular opinion: humans are creatures of habit. At home, each of us has our routine for getting ready in the morning, for preparing food, and even for brushing teeth. Do you wet your toothbrush first or put toothpaste on first?
The same is true for work. You might stop by the same coffee shop on your way to the office, or organize your workspace a certain way each day. Even your work duties are a routine…checking voicemails, scheduling meetings, returning emails. For those that work in manufacturing, are technicians, toil in trades, or are artists, this habitual or repetitive motion goes even deeper. Repetition is how your work gets completed. Repetition is vital to a successful finished product. Overtime, the constant wear and tear of repetition can cause stress, tension and even dis-ability within your body.
Have you noticed a twinge in your neck, shoulders or back after leaning over your work? Have you dealt with a cramp in your hands or wrists? Or perhaps you’ve noticed the swelling of your legs, ankles or feet? Twinges, swelling, and dull or intense pain are common side effects of repetitive motion while sitting or standing in one place for hours at a time.
The good news is that bodily tension, and the mental stress that ensues, can be released in as a few as five minutes. Curated movement and breath counters the motion you perform over and over again. If your hands and wrists are where tension is held, you need mobility for hands and wrists. If it’s your hips or back, you need hip and back mobility exercises. Let’s not forget that the body is a whole unit though. Tension is typically held in more than one place and it’s important to strengthen and mobilize all areas of your body.
Being in the field of worksite wellness, we see and offer support for these issues on a regular basis. The employees of one of our clients, Diamond Brand Gear, a sustainable tent-making company based in North Carolina, face bodily stress and strain (especially in the hands, wrists, back, shoulders and neck) from repetitive motion at work. In 2022, we developed a customized stretching video for our client’s employees to use at the beginning of each shift and after lunch break. This short, guided stretch routine is a vital piece of Diamond Brand Gear’s wellness culture that has been enjoyed by their employees every day since. We now have plans to upgrade this wellness initiative to insure each employee has even less of a chance of injury and a greater chance of improved physical well-being. By taking care of their employees, their business can thrive. Alternatively, if you ignore the stresses and strains of repetitive motion, your workflow will diminish and thus the success of your business.
Do you and your team have the tools to rebalance the body, ease the mind, and continue to show up refreshed and able to work optimally? If yes, great! We’d love to hear your success story! If not, or if you’d like more information, I am here to chat. Email me at yogilindsayc@gmail.com to schedule a 15 minute meeting; I am available via zoom or phone and look forward to connecting with you!
Written by Lindsay Coward, MPH, Certified Yoga Instructor
Speaker, Founder of Yoga Nut
Interested in learning more about our worksite wellness services? Click here.