Every living being on the earth has different sensations and among them, pain is the worst sensation.
It is an unpleasant situation which sensed by all living beings. The pain is caused due to various reasons – the most common being injured. The level of pain could be less or more depending upon the injury.
Stress is considered as the major factor for the neck and shoulder pain. There has been so much technological advancement – that we are always in front of the computer while at work and at home.
This is one of the major reasons why people experience shoulder and neck pain very frequently. The posture of the person while sitting and the placement of the desktop has an important role to play for this type of pain.
Reasons for Neck and Shoulder Pain at Work:
All of us are in a competent world – each one of us has to finish the work within the given time period. Hence we spend long working hours sitting in front of computers. You spend several hours in one position to complete your project.
Now when you start the movement after a long period – your neck and shoulders become stiff and it starts paining. There are all chances that you have a slight headache because you have been strenuously concentrating for a long period of time.
Let us explore a few reasons for the neck and shoulder pain
1. Strain in the posture:
Your posture is one of the main reasons for your neck and shoulder pain. It is very vital that you maintain your posture while you are working on your desktop. In most cases, we just have the option to sit and work and that too for long hours.
Unfortunately the longer you sit and work – the worst is the effect on your neck and shoulders. In the long run, you experience soreness around your spine muscles and the girdle of your shoulder becomes tense. This results in significant pain across the upper neck region.
2. Setting up of the desk:
This is another critical factor affecting the neck and shoulder pain. Though it may be very surprising the setting of the desk is not correct then it can cause major problems. In case your desk is very high then you will be shrugging your shoulders for a long time.
This is required in order to adjust your seating.
In the long run, your neck muscles will also start having fatigue, and it shall begin to spasm.
Initial stages, you will have a headache, and this shall gradually increase. In case the desk is very low, you will have to flex your muscles to work on the keyboard.
3. Setting up of your monitor:
Monitor setup is among another major reason for the shoulder and neck pain. The level of the monitor should be set properly otherwise it will promote neck pain.
Most of the monitors have a stock stand which can be adjusted as per your requirement.
4. The posture of the chair:
One mustIt is very vital that one should invest in a good chair. It is necessary to have a proper chair because most of us work in a sitting position for a long time. There are different types of chairs but the ergonomic chairs are the best ones.
They provide ultimate flexibility and adjustment to reduce the neck and shoulder pain. The arms of the chair also have an important role to reduce the stress of your work.
5. Stress:
Whenever one has excess workload it creates a lot of stress on your body physically. While you are working on a computer for long hours, the most stressed parts are your shoulders and neck.
The fatigue of these parts creates tremendous pain and it can cause various other complexities. Stress management is very important in order to reduce the pressure on your neck and shoulders.
When we talk about various reasons for the shoulder and neck pain – there are many ways through which we can avoid having these problems.
Let us check out on some of the tips for prevention –
1. Change a new pillow:
Though it may seem to be a very silly preposition – changing your pillow can help you relieve from neck pain. It is important that after a long day’s work you get proper rest for your neck. In order to get good sleep, your pillow should be good. There are different types of pillows which are available in the market. You can get them and do a trial and error method and get the best option for yourself.
Few of them get relaxed with their neck pain when they lie on their back on the pillow. These types of pillows are generally flat ones or the orthopedic ones.
Others find it easy when they lie on their side. The other option is the recliner or the adjustable bed – in such type of beds, you can have a relatively smaller pillow which can ease your neck pain.
Most of us change the position of sleep – and in such cases, it is advisable to have more than one pillow. This will give you better comfort and reduction in your neck pain.
2. Sleeping position:
The sleeping position plays an important role in alleviating your neck pain. The doctors suggest that the best position to sleep is on your back. This will help in resting your spine very comfortably.
The best way is to sleep on your back and place the pillows under your arms. The main idea of placing the pillows under the arm is that it shall reduce the strain on your neck while you lie on your back.
There are many who love to sleep on their sides – in such cases the height of the pillow should be less. Thus you can enjoy your sleep and also reduce your neck pain.
3. Position of computer:
The experts suggest that while you are working on the computer – it should be at your eye level. In order to ensure that you do not have neck pain – just sit in front of your computer with your eyes closed.
When you open your eyes – the gaze should be directly in the middle of your screen. In case you find that you have to strain your neck up and down then it has to be adjusted to your eye level.
The adjustment is required mostly for laptops – because they call for downward stress of your neck. Hence it is better that you connect the laptop screen to another external screen and work. This would ensure lesser neck pain while at work.
4. Reduce texting messages:
Usage of your cell phone for a long period of time can cause the neck strain; hence resulting in extreme pain.
Avoid texting of messages for a long time. It is preferable that while you text messages raise your mobile to your eye level and take frequent breaks.
5. Using headphones:
Most of you would have seen that while you walk and talk you have your head tilted. This is very dangerous as it strains all the ligaments and muscles of your neck.
It is better to have a hands free device – choose from either a wireless or wired headset. This makes your neck pain free in the long run.
6. Better ergonomics:
Ergonomics is the procedure where you can have better postures and other equipment which are set as per the human bodies. It is important to have a stable footrest while you are sitting and standing firmly on the floor with your feet touching on the floor.
Your thighs should be parallel to the ground while you are sitting. The lower back has to be correctly supported. The position of the elbows should be placed in such a manner that it supports your body. The wrist and arms should be kept in line with your forearms. The shoulders should always remain relaxed.
7. Changing place:
In case you are having chronic pain on one side of the shoulder then it is necessary that you change the places of your computer. You should change the places very often so that both your shoulders have equal pressure. This shall reduce the chances of shoulder pain.
8. Regular walking and mild exercises:
The experts suggest that there should be a 30-second micro-break and this should be taken every 30 minutes. During the break ensure that you shake your hands and arms.
This shall ensure that there is proper blood circulation in the neck and shoulders. Once in 2 hours, you need to leave your desk and go for a walk. You can take 5 minutes to break relax your neck and shoulders. The best idea is to have a long break right after lunch.
9. Take help:
One should not feel ashamed or small to ask for help. You should not push yourself to such a situation that you reach the point of injury or a condition which makes you uncomfortable.
“Prevention is better than cure” goes the saying – hence it is desirable that we try to avoid as much as stress as possible. This will help us in reducing the neck and shoulder pain.
Also if one can follow simple exercises and take a few precautions – this problem can be easily eliminated.
