CHENNAI: In the corporate world, muscle weakness doesn’t always show up on a gym floor. It lingers behind desks, in long hours of screen time, and in the quiet toll of sedentary routines. Often dismissed as fatigue or minor discomfort, it escalates into injury before it’s taken seriously.
Haresshvar Sakthivelu, life coach and founder of S4 Protocol, an online training programme, unpacks how modern work lifestyles contribute to declining strength and recurring strain.
“The approach for people with muscle imbalances, weakness or tears is quite simple. The goal is not to aggravate the injury, but figure out and address the root cause of the problem,” says Haresshvar, with 13 years of experience in the field.
From desk-friendly exercises to mindful training approaches, he reframes fitness as an essential part of professional well-being. Because in high-performance careers, sustaining your body is just as critical as meeting deadlines, and recovery, when done right, becomes a powerful reset.
People whose profession involves a lot of writing tend to get writer’s cramp, making the wrist swollen and painful. “We fix that by recommending the use of an ergonomic keyboard and mouse. Posture corrections will also follow,” he shares.
People working in the field of IT have to sit and work for long hours. This leads to lower back pain, which is becoming a common problem. “Our muscles and joints are tuned to move around. Sitting in one place will affect the quadriceps muscles,” Haresshvar adds. However, becoming physically active suddenly will also cause strain. “To address this, we start with posture change.”
Not just this, prolonged phone usage often leads to a change in the neck’s natural curve, known as tech neck. “When this happens, the weight increases and becomes a burden to the rest of the body. Even this causes back pain because everything around the spine is linked to each other.” A most common thing people do is keep a wallet in one side of the pocket. But people do not realise the effects of the same. “Even this causes muscle weakness.”
Identifying the root cause is crucial. “We cannot eliminate the root cause in certain cases. But come up with alternative remedies to lead a much more active and healthier lifestyle.”
Injuries are uncertain. People tend to continue working out even after suffering major injuries. But what is the right way? “When the pain reduces, we go for strengthening, and start with simple stretches to analyse how the muscles function and where we need to focus.”
An ACL (Anterior cruciate ligament) tear is one of the most common tears. “We will be careful and will not proceed with training without getting a doctor’s
certificate. Once we get the approval, we begin with workouts that don’t strain the knees and opt for machine-based exercises. The training’s focus will be on the upper body, without heavy
lifts and weights. We make sure that training doesn’t cause another injury,” elucidates Haresshvar Sakthivelu.