What is the Best Treatment for Neck Pain?
If you ask a medical professional this question, you will likely hear them suggest a medication. If you ask a physiotherapist, they would likely say “hands-on physio treatment”, or perhaps “change your pillow” or “improve your posture”. Well, some recent research has provided a surprising (to some) conclusion about one of the best ways to improve your neck pain.
Whilst it has long been thought that improving your posture and ergonomic (ie. desk/computer) setup may reduce strain on the neck, multiple studies have found that groups of patients who performed regular upper body and neck strengthening exercises reported significant reductions in neck pain.
Simple exercises, such as the ones below, target the upper body and are suggested as a simple way to both reduce and also to prevent neck pain. As with any exercise program, the exercises should be done at least three times per week for maximum benefit, starting with a light weight as recommended by your therapist.
Mechanisms by which upper body strength may help your neck:
- Improved arm strength may help to reduce the strain from lifting/pushing/pulling activities from transferring onto the neck,
- Improved body awareness that comes with exercising,
- Inadvertent improvement in posture with improved strength and awareness,
- Mobilising effect of the dynamic exercises on the spine and shoulders may help to loosen neck structures and help to reduce stiffness from prolonged sitting,
- Improved blood flow to the upper body may help with muscle tightness and tissue repair.
So if you are a neck pain sufferer who has tried a lot of other remedies, but are generally sedentary and have not done much exercise (particularly targeted upper body strengthening), then this approach may be worth a try!