Is your computer and phone causing your neck issues? One of the biggest contributors to neck pain and stiffness is our poor posture. A lot of us sit at a desk for work or school for several hours throughout the day. We’re often not aware of our posture. We might not have a workstation that is set up ergonomically; our computer screens are too high or too low; we’re on our phones or our tablets and looking down. Our lifestyles in general cause us to be very forward-head focused.
Think about when you sit in traffic or have a long commute. Our shoulder and upper back muscles can get tired and cause us to slouch forward and therefore, contribute to stiffness, tightness and pain in those neck muscles. Overtime our poor posture can cause us to stop crocheting or knitting, completing our office or school work and make it difficult to do the necessary everyday activities such as vacuuming and putting away dishes.
It is important to address neck pain and stiffness before it creates a loss of range of motion and prevents us from being able to turn our heads when driving and from participating in our weekly or sporting activities.
So what can we do to relieve neck pain or discomfort? Hands-on therapy by a Physical Therapist can help to increase flexibility of tight muscles; increase joint nutrition and mobility, relieve disc compression and muscle tension, and relieve trigger points so you can get back to completing your daily chores around the house and enjoying a good night’s sleep without pain once again.
What are some simple things to think about in terms of checking your posture?
- Open up through your chest, stretch everything that’s tight in the front of your body and strengthen postural muscles in the upper back and shoulders.
Other contributors to neck pain are:
- Stiffness and tightness is disc degeneration. Your discs are kind of like a jelly donuts that sit in between the vertebrae in our necks. Over time, the jelly in these discs dries up causing the discs themselves start to lose height. It makes your individual vertebrae start to come closer together and then they’re going to start to rub against each other. That’s going to cause a lot of pain.
- Osteoarthritis occurs when you have wear and tear of the cartilage, which is connective tissue in between the joints to cushion it. When you get that wear down of the cartilage, you’re getting more bone on bone contact. This causes inflammation in the joints themselves and around the joint where they move together. This causes more inflammation, degeneration, bone on bone rubbing and therefore pain. In addition to that inflammation in the joint, there is a nerve coming through there and that nerve gets irritated too. Bone spurs can also occur when arthritis is present adding to the pain. As we age, the discs that create cushioning between the vertebrae in our spines begin to dry out and lose their height. You may have heard your grandmother complain of “shrinking” or losing inches. Degeneration of the spine, bone loss and deterioration of the discs cushioning the vertebrae is the root cause of height loss.
Regardless of what is causing your ‘pain in the neck’, Loudoun Sports Therapy Center can help get you relief. Our Physical Therapists will conduct an evaluation and develop an individualized treatment plan specifically for you so you can get back to working at your desk and enjoying all of your favorite leisure activities in no time.
CALL Loudoun Sports Therapy Center TODAY at 703-450-4300.
CLICK HERE for some tests for neck mobility and stiffness.
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