Physio & Pain Relief
Fix what hurts. Gently.
The classic working-dad complaints, each with a set of gentle, physio-grade exercises you can start today. Slow, boring, effective.
Not medical advice
These exercises are general education for common aches, not a diagnosis. Start gently, stop anything that causes sharp pain, and see a doctor or physiotherapist if pain is severe, worsening, or hangs around for more than a couple of weeks.
Lower Back Pain
You sit at a desk for eight hours, then bend over to pick up a toddler, a car seat, or a laundry basket - and your lower back lets you know about it. Most dads with back pain don't have anything scary going on; the back just gets stiff and deconditioned from long sitting and sudden lifting.
3 exercises →
Desk Neck
Hours of leaning toward a monitor and looking down at a phone pull your head forward and round your shoulders. By the end of the workday your neck aches, your upper traps feel like rope, and headaches can creep in from the base of the skull.
3 exercises →
Tight Hips
Sitting all day keeps your hips locked at ninety degrees, so the muscles at the front shorten and the ones around them stop moving well. You feel it when you crouch to a kid's eye level, sit cross-legged on the floor, or stand up after a long drive and walk like a rusty robot.
4 exercises →
Knee Pain
Stairs, squatting down to the floor for the hundredth block tower, or that weekend basketball run - your knees complain, especially around or under the kneecap. It's common in dads who went from active to desk-bound and then jump back into activity on weekends.
4 exercises →
Shoulder Impingement
Reaching overhead - lifting a kid onto your shoulders, putting a bag in the overhead bin, painting a ceiling - pinches at the top or front of the shoulder. Rounded desk posture narrows the space the rotator cuff moves through, and the tendons get irritated.
4 exercises →
Wrist & Carpal Tunnel Symptoms
A full day on a keyboard and mouse, then gripping bike handlebars, stroller handles, or a wiggling kid - your wrists ache, and you might get tingling or numbness in the thumb-side fingers, especially at night. Repetitive typing posture is the usual suspect.
3 exercises →