Exercises that help you deal with chronic pain while working from home

• Many people struggle with headaches, neck pain, or lower back pain, especially when working from home.
• Stretching the neck from side-to-side can improve your flexibility and reduce the pain.
• Yoga poses like downward-facing dog may help relieve a headache.
• For back pain, try the sphinx pose where you lie on your stomach and then prop yourself up on your elbows.
• This article was medically reviewed by Eric Freeman, DO, a pain management specialist at Redefine Healthcare Orthopedic Pain & Spine Center.
• Visit Insider's Health Reference library for more advice.

Working from home may be uncomfortable if you suffer from chronic pain. Without ergonomic office setups or access to a physical therapist, your body may begin to ache.

The CDC estimates that about 50 million people over the age of 18 in the United States suffer from chronic pain. This pain can limit daily activities and mobility and promote anxiety and depression.

Here are some things you can do at home to help yourself if you're coping with chronic pain right now.

Stretches and exercises that can help chronic pain

If you are experiencing pain while working from home, it's important to listen to your body.

For example, if you're suffering from a headache, for example, take a break from working and rest your eyes.

Boleslav Kosharskyy, MD, an Interventional Pain Management Doctor in New York City says that in addition to headaches, he sees the most patients suffering from neck pain and lower back pain.

There are plenty of easy stretches and exercises you can do to target these body parts at home, and you don't need any equipment. Here are some examples that Kosharskyy recommends.

Exercises for neck pain

1. First, Kosharskyy suggests standing up, dropping your chin to your chest, and holding that for ten seconds. Then, lift your chin up, tilt your head back, and look up at the ceiling. Hold that position for ten seconds. Do three repetitions of this.
2. Next, you'll be stretching your neck side to side instead of forward and back. Drop your head to one side, while you continue to look forward. Hold for ten seconds, and then switch sides. Again, do three reps of these.
3. Third, turn your head and neck to look over your right shoulder. Hold for ten seconds, then do the same on the left side. Repeat three times.

For people who are finding these stretches too easy and want something more challenging which may provide more relief, try an advanced version of this stretch.

Advanced version of exercises for neck pain

• Lie down on your bed with your head hanging over the end. Then, slowly nod your head up and down to strengthen those same neck muscles further, as opposed to just dropping your chin to your chest and then looking back while standing up.
• When you stretch your neck side to side, dropping your head down to your shoulder, you can drop the opposite shoulder when you stretch each side for an even deeper stretch that you'll feel beyond your neck and into the top of your shoulder muscles.

According to Kosharskyy, this advanced version can provide longer-lasting relief because it offers a deeper stretch and will increase muscle flexibility further. However, if you attempt these stretches and feel pain or discomfort, stop the exercise. Comfort is important, and pain is an indicator that you are likely not flexible enough for this advanced stretch.

Yoga poses for headaches

Kosharskyy is a big proponent of using yoga to help with headaches. Yoga increases blood flow, which may help many types of headaches that are associated with diminished blood flow. The flexibility and stretch aspects of yoga are beneficial, too for muscle aches.

"There is also a tremendous benefit in having flexible muscles and improved range of motion in the neck since many types of headaches are cervicogenic, meaning they are mediated by muscles and joints of the cervical spine," says Kosharskyy.

Here are some specific yoga poses he recommends for headaches.

• Hastapadasana (Standing Forward Bend): This pose, quite simply, is standing up and bending at the hips to touch your toes, or however far down you can reach.
• Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog): If you're not familiar with this yoga pose, you can start on the ground on all fours. Firmly plant your hands on the ground. Next, slowly lift your knees off the floor and lift your hips all the way up to the ceiling. If you aren't flexible, you might need to keep your knees bent while you do this. Your body will end up in an upside-down V formation in downward facing dog. Keep your head and neck down, directing your gaze in between your legs rather than looking forward.
• Setu Bandhasana (Bridge Pose): In this pose, lie flat on your back with your knees bent and feet planted on the floor. Then, squeeze your glutes to lift your hips pelvis in the air.

Stretches for lower back pain

According to Koharskyy, some of the most common chronic pain complaints are back pain. These stretches may offer you some temporary relief because they can keep the pain in the middle of the back near the spine, which is referred to as centralization, as opposed to the pain spreading throughout the back and down the sides of the body. Koharskyy says this centralization will in turn lead to diminished pain and improved range of motion, as well as less pain over time.

• Lie flat on your stomach and then prop yourself up on your elbows, with your elbows directly under your shoulders. You should feel a stretch throughout the back. This is actually a yoga pose (sphinx pose) which is a gentle backbend. Take a few slow deep breaths while you are in this pose. Release back down flat onto your belly, and do three repetitions.
• Lie on your back with your knees bent. Bring your knees up towards your chest and grab them with your hands, like you are rolling yourself into a ball. Hold yourself in this position by applying some pressure by squeezing your legs more into your torso, and hold for a few seconds. Release your knees, return to the starting position lying flat on the floor, and repeat ten times.
• Sit in a chair, and slowly bend forward at your hips and reach towards the floor. Once you're bent as far forward as you can go, grab your ankles or behind your shins and pull to give some pressure. You should feel this stretch in the lower part of the back, to the sides of your spine. Return to a normal seated position. Repeat ten times.

Call your doctor or use telemedicine services to discuss what exercises and stretches are best for you, depending on your specific source and cause of pain.

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