Physical Stress and Tension

[DancingLady]

Law enforcement can be a very stressful job. When you are out on patrol and dealing with stressful or tense situations, do you find yourself getting tight in your neck and shoulders? This seems like it could a pretty painful issue for cops as sitting in a car for lengthy periods can be uncomfortable even when one is not stressed.

 

[Peninha]

I feel that sports or a relaxing activity are the best to get rid of that tension, in more extreme cases an osteopath might help.

 

[DancingLady]

I have to massage my shoulders and upper back to get the tension out. Sometimes it gets really bad if I am stressed. A relaxing activity does not do much for me when my muscles are so tight they feel like there are extra bones there.

 

[missamanda819]

I'm not a cop, but I tend to get really tense in my neck and shoulders. It would cause headaches a lot of times.

A friend of mine showed me a few stretches to do to help ease the tension, and it has really helped a lot.

You just relax, and lean your head down - chin on your chest. Lock both hands behind your head and apply a little pressure, pushing down. Hold it about 20 seconds. Then lean your head to the right, and do the same thing. Same thing for the left side.

Since I started doing this, the headaches have stopped and the tension isn't nearly as bad. It's pretty much gone now.

 

[DancingLady]

Those are good stretches. I often forget to pause and do stretches until I am noticing I am really tight and hurting. I would think for someone spending a lot of time on patrol, this could be a real challenge. Any cops care to add to this?