Neck and Shoulder Pain

Why do we get neck pain? In my case, I have a specific reason – Cervical Spondylosis. What about others? Till sometime ago, I thought only people like me suffer from it and then one day I saw my wife getting up with a neck pain. This happened a little long ago and I read more about it that time and came to know that I am not left alone. It has become a common issue even among youth. The other day I once again woke up with a stiff neck which gave a decent amount of pain, coz of a wrong sleeping position.

So, why is this neck and shoulder pain? In this modern world, culprit number one is the one who is helping me to type this – the computer. Especially the use of laptops for daily use that too for many hours. Why laptops? Mainly coz of the wrong or un-ergonomic position. It is suggested that we should sit in such a position that we look at the monitor straight. That too keeping our both feet resting on the floor. One need to give proper lower back support too. Using external keyboard is helpful to keep our head straight, by keeping the laptop in a proper position so that our eyes are straight to the screen. The major issue here is bending our neck to view the screen, that too for a long time. Obviously this is applicable to viewing of TV too.

It is observed that using high heels is one of the main reasons for neck and shoulder/back pain in women. In my case, if I use the cell phone for longer time, I get neck pain. If we keep the head straight while speaking over mobile, we need to raise our elbow a little up which strains the shoulder part. If the elbow touch our body, we need to tilt our head to one side, which strains the neck. Not just mobile phone, this can happen with regular phone too. If I know that it will be a long talk, I use my hands free, these days.

Wrong reading/driving position is also can cause neck stiffness. If we lift weights (anything which has some ‘weight’ )in improper position, the common belief is that it will affect the back. Especially the lower back. That is 100% true. I personally experienced such pain many a times. But the thing is, it also can affect the neck, if we hold the neck in awkward position while lifting something.

Another thing that comes to my mind now is the use of laptop bags. That is another reason for these kind of pain. I personally don’t have any experience in this connection coz, I don’t carry my laptop on a regular basis. But my wife developed shoulder pain. It became a kind of radiating pain and started spreading over to her chest and hand. The doc asked her to take a break (ie, not to use the bag for sometime) and then shift to a (light weight) backpack. It was helpful. I think, though it has some cost element involved in it, it is better we have two charger/power cords, which is usually bit heavy. Keep one at work. This way we can avoid carrying it on a daily basis.

Anyway, doing neck exercises on a daily basis is highly recommended. I am advised to do a couple of exercises by an orthopedic doc. So, from my personal experience, I found it works.

These are some causes and how to avoid it. But what to do if we get such a pain. The best thing is to meet a doc. I have this habit of meeting MY DOC, even for silly matters. This is coz, he won’t put me under medication without any solid reason. Many a times, we just talk for sometime and I return without any prescription but with some extra info/knowledge. This may not be the case with many other docs. But still meeting a doc is a good idea. But what I personally do is do a herbal oil massage (mostly I do it myself) and apply heat. The best way to apply heat is hot shower. I use the maximum temperature I can bear and while the hot water falls on my neck and shoulder, I slowly turn my neck both ways to give a very light exercise (well, don’t let the hot water fall on your head!!). If turning the neck gives extra pain, dont do it at all. In that case, start the neck exercises, only after the pain is over. And then?

Then Make it a habit...