Sitting for Several Hours Each Day?

Neck pain is a common complaint that we see in physical therapy. Our posture as a society has continued to decline with the increased use of phones and computers. Poor posture when sitting or standing can lead to many neck injuries that can be addressed with physical therapy.

Common Neck Injuries:

Cervical radiculopathy is a term that means radiating pain down into your arms/hands or upper back. This is due to nerve compression in the neck. Most people will complain of numbness down into their hand or posterior shoulder pain with moving the neck into a certain position. These symptoms can often be alleviated by light traction of the neck/spine or changing your posture. Cervical radiculopathy is commonly caused by disc pathology in the cervical spine causing nerve root compression.

Cervical Instability is a term that is used to describe excessive motion of the neck and muscle weakness which results in poor spinal mechanics and pain. If you have cervical instability you are at risk for overuse injuries, headaches, and chronic neck pain due to inflammation. It is common to have shearing in the spine. This is when several of the vertebrae move too much while others don’t move enough causing overuse and inflammation. Symptoms of cervical instability commonly include headaches, a feeling that your head is too heavy, pressure through the neck, difficulty sitting or standing, and a constant feeling of muscles being tight and ‘spasming.’

Posture is extremely important, especially when it comes to preventing neck related injuries. As a society we tend to spend large amounts of time sitting at computers, reading e-mails and texts on our phones, and watching TV which will all result in abnormal stress in our neck if performed with poor posture. Poor posture often develops from bad habits and weakness in a key muscle groups, your scapular muscles. An over stretched muscle is a weak muscle which results in complaints of neck and upper back pain.

Physical therapy will teach you how to effectively use your scapular muscles, teach you proper postures, and improve your overall neck and upper back health. This allows you to complete all daily tasks pain free!