Neck pain - reasons and treatment

In this post, we will focus on pain in the neck. An area in which you easily become stiff. How do you prevent neck pain and how do you treat it? We have the answers!

We have previously written about how common it is with backache, but how common is it to have neck pain? Just as common actually! In fact, as many as 70-80% of the population experience pain in the back and neck and it is one of the conditions that cause most sick leaves in Sweden. The occurrence of both back and neck pain is also similar. Most often it’s about sitting still for too long, for example in front of the computer.

Reason

The cause of the pain (much like backache) is often linked to one’s work environment or inner feelings. We usually address these three reasons when talking about the reasons for the pain:

• Sitting down for too long
• Stressing too often
• Working in difficult positions

It’s important that you vary the position you have, unwind as often as possible to keep down the stress levels and of course, pause the work a little now and then to vary your position.

In the video above, the performance coach David shows the best ways to release tension in the neck.

Treatment

When preventing, but also treating the pain, it’s important to have varying postures and preferably stand up a bit from time to time, especially if you sit too often and for a long time. In other words, the pain in this case also depends on stiff muscles, which need stimulation. Stress is also a contributing factor.

Exercises for neck pain

Try doing these exercises that naprapath Emma Swärd recommends. Repeat the exercises 10-15 times and with a good posture.

• Lift your shoulders against your ears, hold them up for a while before releasing your shoulders again
• Pull your arms back as if “rowing a boat”, thus pulling the shoulder blades together
• Pull in your chin, then turn head to the side and hold the position for a while. Then repeat this exercise a couple of times in both directions.
• Extend one arm up to the ceiling, as if you were to pick apples. Look up at the hand. Feel the whole side stretching out and then switch arm.