Do you suffer from chronic neck pain?
If you do, you’re not alone. In fact, this type of pain is one of the most common we see here at Karp Rehabilitation. The reason is that neck pain affects so many aspects of daily life. From shoulder checking and grocery shopping to child care and house cleaning, there is no task too mundane for the effects of neck pain!
So, why do many of us live with this kind of chronic pain? The biggest reason has to do with our jobs – our desk jobs, that is. We know…you’ve heard it before: sitting is not good for the body. But it’s true! When you sit for up to eight hours a day, especially at a computer, you cause a lot of damage to your neck and shoulders. For one thing, you create a kind of “poke chin” posture that forces your neck forward. Plus, your shoulders may begin to round forward into a slouching position. Add this to the pectoral tightness that typing causes and you’ve got a sure-fire recipe for neck pain!
But the good news is that you don’t have to live with neck pain. Instead, you can make a few simple changes and significantly reduce your discomfort!
The first thing you can try is a neck-strengthening exercise like chin crunches, which target the muscles surrounding and supporting your neck. To perform this exercise, begin by laying flat on your back with your head resting on the floor. Then lift your head up off the floor so that your chin eventually touches your chest. Slowly bring your head back down and repeat. You will want to make sure that your feet are lying flat on the ground and that your knees are kept at a 90-degree angle. You should also keep your shoulder from rising up. If you experience pain in the back of your neck or in your upper back, simply add another mat behind your head for additional support.
Next, you can move onto posture-improving exercises such as prone thumb raises and reverse shrugs. Like chin crunches, prone thumb raises are completed by lying on the ground. The only difference is that you will need to be facing down for this exercise. Once you have found a comfortable face-down position, continue by stretching your arms out in front of you at 10:00 and 2:00 with both thumbs facing upward. Then pull your shoulder blades down toward your feet while simultaneously raising your arms off the ground. Return to the original position and repeat. Keep in mind: your elbows should be slightly bent and your hands should be wider than shoulder-width apart.
For the reverse shrug, you will need to use a lateral pull-down machine with moderate weight (40-60 pounds). To get stated, grasp the machine’s handle bars with an overhead grip, sit down, and lean back approximately 20 degrees. Then relax your shoulders so that the weight pulls them close to your ears. Next, pull your shoulder blades toward the ground while contracting the muscles of your middle back. Let your arms slowly return to the starting position and repeat. Avoid moving too quickly and remember that you can lower the weight if you are experiencing discomfort.
Talk to your doctor before performing any of the above neck exercises. Do not perform any of the above exercises if you experience an increase in neck pain.
To learn more about solutions for chronic neck pain, simply call Karp Rehabilitation at 604-420-7800