Desk Work and Neck Pain
If you find yourself sitting all day at work, rubbing your neck, stretching your shoulders, and taking Tylenol for headaches, you’re not alone. At function health + wellness in Guelph, neck pain is one of the most common complaints we see among patients who work at a desk. This neck pain can manifest in their shoulders, cause headaches, and even into your jaw.
Since we see a strong correlation between patients who spend a considerable amount of time at their desk and neck pain, we thought it would be a good idea to explain what is happening, how we can help, and how you can manage things between appointments at home.
Can A Desk Job Cause Neck Pain?
Short answer, yes, it can, but maybe not why you would think. We often hear patients say something like “I really try to focus on a good posture, but it doesn’t seem to help” causing frustration. It’s important to understand that there is no single posture that is inherently “good” or “bad”; what really matters is the DURATION we spend in those postures.
How Posture Can Develop Into Neck Pain
When you hold ANY position, whether that be sitting at your desk, lying on the couch, or standing in a line, your muscles are constantly working to keep you upright. This prevents us from simply falling, rolling off the couch, or smacking our heads on our desks.
The longer we hold these single positions, those particular muscles slowly become fatigued and strained. If they don’t get a break, irritation and inflammation build up, resulting in pain. For example, If I asked you to hold your hand in a fist for 4 hours straight, your hand would likely become really sore. It’s the same with the muscles that hold our necks upright.
So it’s the TIME we’re spending in these postures that is causing pain, NOT the posture itself.
How We Can Help With Neck Pain
Our chiropractors and massage therapists are experts at assessing and treating neck pain. The first step in our approach is to understand why you’re experiencing your pain. Having a through understanding of your occupation, lifestyle, and movement patterns, we’ll be able to put a plan together that combines hands-on work (this may include soft tissue therapy, joint mobilizations, adjustments, acupuncture and cupping), providing you with various stretches and exercises that target the muscles that help to improve your postural endurance, and discuss various strategies that you can use at home and work to help relieve your neck pain but also prevent it from recurring in the future.
Things You Can Start Doing Now
If you’re reading this, you’re likely looking for advice on what to do. Although every case of neck pain is different and the recommendations may change from person to person, there are a few common stretches, exercises, and strategies that can be beneficial in managing it on your own. Here are our top 3 stretches our patients have found helpful in managing their neck pain.
1) Chin Tucks
Instead of pulling your chin to your chest, think about driving your chin backwards towards your neck. You may feel some gentle pressure build up in the front of your neck and a slight stretch in the back. If this causes pain, stop and seek further medical assessment. Do 10-12 chin tucks, twice per day.
2) Thoracic Spine Extension
This helps reverse the “shrimp posture” we can develop when sitting for a long period of time. Start by resting your elbows on the wall in front of you, take 1-2 steps back, and let your head and chest fall towards the floor. You will feel a stretch through the tops of your shoulders and between your shoulder blades. Hold this for 5-6 long, slow breaths, twice per day.
3) Band Pull-Aparts
This exercise helps to get blood flowing and activate the muscles that help keep our posture upright. The stronger these muscles are, the longer they will be able to keep us comfortable before straining and pain occur. Hold a light band in your hands with your arms stretched out in front of you. Keeping your arms straight, pull the band apart as far as you can and pinch your shoulder blades together. Keep your shoulders down to prevent shrugging them up towards your ears. Do 10-15 pull-aparts, twice per day.
Neck Pain Doesn't Just Affect Your Neck
It affects your work, workouts, sleep and mood. While sitting can certainly play a role in it, there is a lot that can be done to manage and prevent it. As chiropractors and massage therapists, we have expertise, tools and resources to help you both relieve your pain and provide you with the advice you need to keep it away in the future.
To learn more about how our team at function health + wellness can help you with your pain, book a complimentary meet + greet, learn about our approach, ask questions, and see if we are the right fit for you!
