3 Reasons You Have Neck Pain
Spinal pain is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide and its occurance has increased dramatically over the last 25 years. At the Bradbourne Clinic we currently see more patients complaining of neck pain than any other problem. Most episodes of neck pain will get better within a few months, however, half to three quarters of people who have neck pain will experience repeated episodes of pain.
Scientific evidence suggests that the 3 most likley reasons for neck pain are:
2. Not getting enough physical exercise
3. Stress
Those with neck pain are often found to be getting less quality or quantitiy of sleep, are in jobs with high stress, they are less physically active and have a depressed mood. These people are essentially experiencing greater stress and they have more muscle tension in their neck.
The flip side of this is that having a stronger neck and enjoying exercise have been shown to protect against neck pain. This along with making sure that we don’t become sleep deprived, less physically active and stressed will hopefully manage and prevent neck pain.
It is often said that there are good and bad postures and that specific postures can lead to neck pain, however, this is not supported by scientific evidence. Research has shown that changing the way you sit while working by altering your workstation have little to no impact on whether a person develops neck pain.
So feel free to sit how you want to at your desk. If you find yourself sitting for long periods in one position make an effort to switch it up – as one of the key things to avoid getting neck pain is to change positions frequently through the day.