Neck pain in the office
Do you have ongoing neck pain from prolonged computer use but stretches and desk setup haven't helped!
A common phrase we hear from sufferers is that I stretch a lot but the neck pain remains.
Maybe you are approaching it in the wrong way.
Recent studies have looked at the effect of walking on reducing neck pain. They have found walking or physical activity to be very helpful. One study found that increasing the number of steps a computer user did per day significantly reduced the risk of the onset of neck pain. However increasing activity levels did not reduce the severity or impairment of neck pain if it did begin.
Another study looked at the effect of changes to desk setup and stretching on neck pain. It found that ergonomics and stretching exercises did have an effect on pain levels when compared to doing nothing. However the effect was short term with the effect reducing over time (about 4 months).
A third study compared the results of a range of different studies. It found that strength exercises are able to help both pain levels and quality of life in people with neck pain.
Do you incorporate strengthening exercises in your life?
It is recommended that you perform 2 sessions of strengthening per week as well as 5 days of physical activity.
Strength exercise should have a load placed on different muscle groups. This could include hand weights, pilates, or body weight exercises like push ups or chin ups. The best exercises for neck pain are those focused on shoulder strength. Especially those for the rotator cuff muscles.
There are different recommendations for physical activity in the media. What I suggest is reaching 30 minutes of activity per day. It should be intense enough to challenge your breathing. You should only be able to speak in sentences only.
It has been suggested that bouts of greater than 10 minutes can only be included. However this recommendation has recently been removed.
If you are doing strengthening exercises at the gym but aren't sure if they are appropriate it is best to make an appointment with a physiotherapist for advice.
