A few quick tips to avoid that pesky neck pain

That darn pain in the neck. 

Neck pain is the second most-seen diagnosis in the physical therapy setting. Morning stiffness, pain with rotation, decreased range of motion (ROM) and headaches can all be radiating from your cervical spine. Cervical spine dysfunction can also be the cause of a shooting pain that goes up into your shoulder blades and/or upper extremities. 

What do we do about this pain in the neck? In my previous column, I wrote about neutral spine posture for the lumbar spine. That’s important, and so is thinking about alignment of your neck. 

We sit at computers all day and read books or watch TV at night in bed but we rarely check to be sure we are doing those activities in a way that is comfortable. Is our computer screen directly in front of us and level with our eyes or a little lower? Are we holding our book above waist level and looking down with our eyes so we aren’t causing mass flexion? Is the TV screen in front of us or slightly off to one side, causing rotation of the cervical spine?

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Alignment is vital to the health and mobility of your spine. Avoid positions that cause mass flexion and mass extension (looking up); just doing that can greatly reduce the incidence of neck pain. 

Another tip: Keep your chin tucked in so it remains in the same plane without dropping or lifting while you perform  everyday tasks. That can also help prevent future problems. 

Shoulder blade position is crucial to protecting your cervical spine. Performing a shoulder shrug by squeezing the shoulder blades together and then dropping the blades back down is a great resting position for muscles. This alignment takes weight off the muscles that attach to the cervical spine, reducing stress.

Contact your local physical therapist for an evaluation if your pain persists.

Drew Matsen has a doctorate in physical therapy with a board certification in orthopedics. He is currently practicing at Sharon Hospital and may be reached at drewmatsen@yahoo.com.