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With the world moving ever more towards computers, phones, technology, and brain-work in general, people are being further bound by the confines of offices, cubicles, home setups, and the like. Health problems in office workers is a real problem that we’re all trying to learn to deal with as a result, and this article is designed to help you do just that.

The Rise of Health Problems in Office Workers

Office work leads to inactivity, which is one of the leading risk factors for non-communicable diseases worldwide. The office setup is just not designed for physical activity. The work being done there requires a whole lot of brain and very little body (despite the inextricable link between the two). It’s a paradox we’re all grappling with, whether we know it or not.

By moving the body (try it right now with these desk exercises!) we stimulate the brain and help it to work properly, but this relationship doesn’t work the other way around. You can’t isolate cognitive function to the neglect of your physicality; many think they can, but it’s these people who usually end up paying the biggest price for their ignorance. 

To add further complexity to the situation, there actually are benefits to even just thinking about physical activity. Skill acquisition and refinement, for example, can be markedly maintained and even improved through mental practice. Can the same be said for our cardiovascular health, circulation, muscle mass, and body composition? Not exactly. 

While the world flocks to dangerous fads and magic pills (Ozempic, perhaps, being the latest), in terms of health and wellness, there is simply no replacement for strenuous physical activity. We discard it at our peril, and office workers are sometimes at the forefront of that so-very-unproductive modern cultural norm.

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Common Health Problems in Office Workers

The rise of health problems in office workers, and the epidemic of sitting as a whole, are societal problems with far-reaching consequences. Some of the most common include the following…

Musculoskeletal Problems

Lower back pain, neck/shoulder stiffness, carpal tunnel syndrome and so many more physical ailments can be traced back to the way we spend our days in office chairs and improperly situated desk/office setups. It all combines in the most unnatural way to wreak havoc on a body that is designed to be moving 10-16 of all our waking hours.

Eye Strain & Visual Problems

The constant illumination from our screens is incredibly stressful to our eyes. As they fatigue, we have a harder time seeing, causing our posture to draw us further into the screen until we resemble some sort of distorted and mythical creature crunched up in front of the computer by day’s end. All of this is draining and burdensome on our minds, eyes, and bodies.

Body Composition

Our energy expenditure plummets when we stop moving (naturally). We’re tired because our brains are working hard while the rest of our body remains stagnant; blood pools in odd places, muscles atrophy, and joints weaken. We crave high-sugar, high-calorie foods to wake us up and keep us stimulated…which only ends up making us fat, miserable and degenerated, instead.

Mental Health

There’s a saying out there, “The body is a map of the mind”. What are the odds of a sick body having a healthy mind? Not good, in our opinion—and the evidence supports it. Office workers have higher rates of depression and anxiety than people who work manufacturing jobs, for example. Physicians, resultantly, now have to consider that there are risks associated with office-type work.

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What Do We Do About It?

Amongst all this doom, gloom, and negativity, there is a silver lining. Just a little bit of effort can potentially help unwind and reverse a huge amount of sedentary living. 

Work from the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, has suggested that 30-40 minutes of moderate-vigorous physical activity can help mitigate the negative effects of up to 10 hours of sedentary living. This is tremendous news, as the comparative time investment is much lower than many of us might have anticipated.

Easier said than done, of course. It’s not that hard to sit around all day, whether that’s in your office or at home on the couch. It’s much more difficult to force yourself to do something extracurricular and strenuous in the name of your health and wellness. Failing to do so, however, may just push you to a tipping point where it no longer becomes a choice, but a necessity.

This is where we can help.

ReverseSit | All-In-One Platform for Office Workers

ReverseSit is a world class rehabilitation and wellness platform for office workers. Using professionally designed stretching/mobility, strength training, and other bodily maintenance protocols, we help office workers reverse the effects of sitting through a tailored, easy to follow, and fun to do program.

We separate things into 3 phases…

Phase 1: Reset

30 video routines that are each 10-15 minutes in length that focus on addressing immediate pains, discomforts and root-cause muscle imbalances that have developed because of your office job. Gentle dynamic and static exercises that require zero equipment form the bulk of these routines.

Phase 2: Correct

Once your body is oriented in the right direction and making some progress, we start to add in more strength work to correct postural imbalances and get your body into a better position. It is a gentle progression from phase 1 to slowly start introducing your body to more intense and strenuous forms of exercise.

Phase 3: Maintain

With all of the combined progress from months 1 and 2, we move onto month 3 that builds on a (by now) significantly changed body that is more flexible, mobile, strong, and resilient. This is an ongoing phase with daily routines to keep you active, healthy, smart, and well. You will truly feel the difference by this stage of the program.

What Are You Waiting For?!

If you suffer from any of the negative ailments we’ve discussed in this article, then ReverseSit was designed for you! Join a community of thousands of office workers worldwide who are using ReverseSit for pain-free living and optimized health and wellness. Sign up for a 7-day free trial by CLICKING HERE!

Written by Eric Lister – Certified Personal Trainer & Corrective Exercise Specialist