Originally Posted by Deecee
I confess I hunch over when I am sewing and tighten my shoulder, back and neck muscles. I find I need to get up and stretch and walk around every half hour or so, otherwise DH has to pry me out of the chair 'cos I can't move!
At a quilt guild mtg. years ago, we had a Physical Therapist as the speaker. She taught us to sew for 20 minutes, then get up, stretch, roll our heads gently side to side, shrug shoulders up and down. Breatheing techniques too. Breathe in and make your belly push out, not your chest and shoulders raising up. Some other exercises to gently stretch the chest muscles. Quilters and computer people tend to have shortened chest muscles because of the positions of their hands while quilting or typing on the computer. Try putting your elbows behind your back, hold for 10 seconds, do this several times, helps with the shoulder and chest muscles. Having good support behind your back, ie., a pillow, may help too.