Office workers: Is it time to finally deal with ‘that pain in the neck’?
For a lot of us, a large percentage of our workday is spent in front of a computer screen – whether you are a tradesman completing quotes online after a day on the tools, a teacher reviewing online assessments, a university student completing online exams, an accountant grinding through tax receipts through a new software program or an office worker doing what you do best: office work. The harsh reality is that regardless of your background skills and knowledge, as technology continues to progress, we also inadvertently increase our ‘computer time’ to manage our lives. And now, with the emergence of COVID-related working adjustments such as online meetings and working from home arrangements, you have probably found that you spend A LOT more time in front of the computer.
What you might have also noticed is an increase in non-specific neck pain, usually described as a gradual increase in muscle tightness reported through the neck down into the shoulder blade and upper back region. What we mean by ‘non-specific’ neck pain, is that it isn’t actually associated with any structural pathology or ‘injury’ but the one thing you are sure of is that the more time you spend at the computer, the worse it gets! And, despite many attempts at stretching and self-massage, you just can’t seem to escape your current neck pain!
Unfortunately, non-specific neck pain affects close to 50% of the office based working population in Australia (1), with computer workers 2-3 times more likely to develop neck pain compared to a general population (2). The risk factors for developing neck pain in office based working populations is usually linked to environmental factors such as prolonged static postures and ergonomic set up as well as poor postural muscle strength and endurance (3).
So, I guess the main question is, what can we do to get rid of our neck pain?
Well for starters, discussing your ergonomic set up with a suitable health professional is a great place to start. Usually, we become negligent with basic things like our computer screen height and style of office chair (particularly if we are now working from home and probably haven’t invested much thought into your current office set up).
Secondly, implementing basic reminders to move are also a great tool. I know it sounds basic, but reminders every 45mins-1 hour to get up and move (and as we’ll will discuss shortly, exercise!) might be the difference in allowing you to firstly finish each day in a more manageable amount of pain.
Thirdly, and most importantly: exercise! There has been moderate to high level evidence that regular strengthening and stretching of the upper back, shoulders and neck can reduce neck pain in office workers (4,5). Unfortunately, getting the pain down to a manageable level before implementing an exercise program and getting the right ‘dosage’ of exercise can be difficult: and that’s where we can help! Our goal at Ahead Physiotherapy is to make long term improvements and that starts with a thorough subjective and objective assessment to identify and then implement the treatment that suits you best!
The benefits of accessing professional help can include:
- Reduction and often resolution of your neck/shoulder blade/back pain,
- Reduction in frequency, severity and duration of any associated headaches,
- Improved posture
- Improved flexibility of your neck and upper back
- Stronger upper body
If you have identified with the description of ‘non-specific neck pain’ and are keen to make sure you do something about it, seeing one of our skilled physiotherapists at Ahead Physiotherapy is a great place to start.
References:
- Hush J., Refshauge K. & Maher C, 2006, ‘Risk factors for neck pain in office workers: A prospective study’, BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 7, 81 10.1186/1471-2474-7-81 [PMC free article] [PubMed] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]
- Green B, 2008, ‘A literature review of neck pain associated with computer use: Public health implications’, Canadian Chiropractic Association 52, 161–168. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hoe V.C., Urquhart D., Kelsall H. & Sim M, 2012, ‘Ergonomic design and training for preventing work related musculoskeletal disorders of the upper limb and neck in adults’, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 8, CD008570 10.1002/14651858.CD008570.pub2 [PMC free article] [PubMed] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]
- Louwe et al. 2017, ‘Effectiveness of exercise in office workers with neck pain: A symptomatic review and meta-analysis’, South African Journal of Physiotherapy. 73(1), doi: 10.4102/sajp.v73i1.392
- Tunwattanapog, P., Kongkasuwan, R. & Kuptniratsaikul, V. 2015, ‘The effectiveness of a neck and shoulder stretching exercise program among office works with neck pain: a randomized controlled trial.