Neck pain affects almost everyone at some point and the causes can be simple but when the neck gets aggravated consistently it can be very difficult to break that pain pattern. Over time we start to compensate for movements that we are unable to perform and that is big predictor for chronic injuries. If you could modify just a few positions throughout the week then the benefits would have a compounding impact on your health and your happiness in the years to come.
Sitting in Front of a Computer
Computer work is the leading cause of tightness in the neck and general discomfort that I see in the clinic. We call it the office gremlin here and hunching over the computer is one of the hardest habits to break. The sad truth is that we are working at computers more and more, most likely that trend will continue and if we don’t change the position that we do these tasks in then the neck will continue to tighten up.
Odd Positions While Driving
Driving can be extremely tough on our neck because we must look in all directions even crouched forward looking up at street lights. We need rotate to look over our shoulder and see a car that’s coming behind us or check our blind spot, we are getting every bit of movement out of our neck joints. When we push those joints to their extreme limits it can cause some irritation. The big problem is that we don’t rotate to that degree often so it causes micro-irritations that become big problems over time.
Prolonged Sleeping Positions
Sleeping is our time to heal but who has woken up with a crick in their neck?? That problem usually means that your neck is in an undesirable position for a long period throughout the night. If we have any type of neck problem, then the best position for healing would be neutral through-out the night. When choosing a pillow always think about maintaining neutral and you will be giving yourself the best chance to feel better.
If you can avoid bad positions with these activities, then you will continue to improve the problems you may have or even prevent the issues from occurring in the first place.
Get Active and Stay Mobile!
Jonathan
P.S. – For more information on Neck and Shoulder pain, click the image below to get my special report with tips to decreasing Neck and Shoulder pain – it’s free:
Dr. Jonathan Ruzicka is a Manual Therapist whose experience as a private therapist for professional athletes drove him to further his education attaining unparalleled skills in tissue mobility work, performance based rehab, injury prevention, myofacial release and joint mobilization to optimize human performance.
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