Episode Details

I've already written extensively about how being sedentary is awful for your health and how sitting can kill your creativity. But in addition to the long term detriments of not moving at your desk, the immediate effects of sitting in positions not meant for the human body include acute pains, chronic pains, numbness and tingling, and even headaches.

There are few things that make it harder to "get in the zone" than constantly being in pain.

There's no getting around it:

Working in front of a computer all day long just plain sucks.

Unfortunately if you do intense creative work under (insanely) tight deadlines chained to your workstation, finding the time for weekly appointments to the masseuse, physical therapist, or chiropractor is nearly impossible.

The fact is when you do project-based work your health just isn't a priority until "hiatus," but that hiatus never seems to come. And if a true hiatus does come, you're so exhausted you'd rather just sleep off the pain (or even worse...medicate it) than fix the source of the problem.

When I reached out to my creative community and asked what hurts the most as a result of working in front of a computer, the most common answer was: EVERYTHING.

When I reached out to my creative community and asked what hurts the most as a result of working in front of a computer, the most common answer was: EVERYTHING.

What really surprised me was not how common chronic pain is amongst "creatives," it was the mentality that we just have to accept this pain and discomfort as part of the job. Even worse is the mentality that someone else should be held responsible:

I say this with all the love and respect in the world: There is someone responsible for your health, and it's YOU.

Chronic Pain Isn't a Requirement Of the Job

Here's the good news: You don't need 24-7 access to a licensed chiropractor or physical therapist to alleviate and eliminate the pain you experience sitting at a computer. You just need to commit to putting your health before your career for a minimum of 5 minutes a day.

And then you need the right tools and the right exercises to ensure you use the little bit of time you do have to the fullest.

To be clear: If you are experiencing chronic pain and discomfort you should see a licensed professional. This article is not a replacement for medical advice. But at the same time, the videos below are all demonstrated and were designed by licensed doctors of chiropractic who specialize in working with both athletes as well as people who live in front of computers, so this is just about as close as you'll get to having a licensed "Chiropractor On Demand" if all you want is a little relief RIGHT NOW.

Want to understand WHY you experience chronic pain in front of your computer?