In today's computerized world, where people are increasingly working at computers, sitting on a chair all day, leading a sedentary lifestyle, spinal problems are becoming more common. It can be pain in the neck, pain between the shoulder blades or pain under the shoulder blade on one side, pain in the lower back, or even pain that radiates to the leg. Symptoms, causes and effects may vary. The diagnoses given by doctors also differ. The treatment of back pain has several basic points that need to be understood not only by the doctor, but also by the patient.

Why do back pains occur?

When you sit at a computer or just at your desk all day, your back muscles are in a tense state. There are spasms and violations of tone. This, in turn, can lead to disorders not only at the muscle level, but also to neurological symptoms (when pain radiates along the limbs). It should also be understood that the intervertebral discs are nourished by diffusion. This requires movement. And the state when there is no load on the spine, and the body does not change its position for a long time, leads to the fact that the nutrition of the intervertebral discs worsens, their structure is disturbed, which sooner or later can lead to the development of intervertebral hernias and protrusions of the intervertebral discs.

What to do if your neck hurts?

Let's consider three fundamentally different options.

If neck pain appeared due to an acute injury: a fall, a blow, any other force impact (for example, diving and hitting the bottom of a reservoir or the surface of the water), and this began to be accompanied by a feeling of numbness in the body, in the arms and legs, impaired movement, it is urgent to call an ambulance. During communication with the operator, it is necessary to inform the time of the injury, the circumstances, the patient's complaints. While waiting for an ambulance, the main thing is not to shift the victim from place to place, immobilize him as much as possible, fix his neck. The doctor of the ambulance team upon arrival will fix the cervical region with a special fixator. After taking a picture cervical spine, it will be clear whether there is damage to the cervical vertebrae or not. Diagnosis and treatment is carried out by a neurosurgeon or orthopedic traumatologist.

Second option, which is not accompanied by trauma to the cervical spine, but most often occurs against the background of hypothermia of the body. Moreover, this may not be a one-time effect of low temperature (for example, plunged into an ice hole), but a long sitting in a draft, near an open window. Such factors often lead to neuritis. People say, "I caught a cold in my neck." The tactics of treatment will also be different, it is handled by a neurologist. The basis of treatment: the use of anti-inflammatory drugs, often in the form of injections, the use of physiotherapy (heating, magnetotherapy, laser therapy).

Third option are pains in the neck that occur as a result of being in awkward posture(prolonged sitting at the computer, sleeping on an uncomfortable bed, on a high pillow, sitting in an uncomfortable chair, standing for a long time, without being able to walk). These are all very common situations. But you need to understand that the causes, and accordingly the treatment tactics, will differ markedly. In this case, there is practically no inflammation. That is why anti-inflammatory pills and injections are not needed. (They may relieve the pain, but they won't fix the cause.) The reason for such pain in the neck lies in the biomechanical processes: the position of the vertebrae, the position of the ligamentous apparatus, muscle tone. This is where the pain comes from. Accordingly, they can be eliminated only due to the same MECHANICAL impact.

Manual treatment of pain in the neck and other parts of the spine

The mechanical effect on the human body underlies all manual medicine (“manus” in translation means “hand”). That is - this is all that a doctor can do with his hands, without exposure to chemical or other physical (heat, radiation, current) influences. Manual therapy is clearly justified if the pain is not due to injury. Moreover, you need to start not with a massage, as everyone used to think, but with a consultation and correction by a chiropractor. Only he will be able to identify in which segment the cause of back pain, how much the muscle tone has been disturbed, and how exactly this problem should be eliminated. Most often, one or two sessions are needed to correct the spine and eliminate back pain. And then, if desired, you can proceed to massage sessions and physiotherapy exercises.

Many people engaged in hard physical labor are envious office workers. “Well, why are they tired when they sit in front of a computer in a comfortable room all day?” they think, and do not suspect how much they are mistaken. Sedentary and sedentary work is the main risk factor for the development of many, including very serious diseases.

Very often, prolonged work at the computer leads to chronic pain in the neck and shoulders.

The explanation for this is simple - man sitting for a long time, bowing his head down, while the muscles of the neck and shoulder girdle are in tension. The same forced posture is observed among representatives of some other professions, for example, accountants, cashiers.

Previously, such pains were capaciously called "accountant's withers", but now, in the era of universal computerization, they can be safely called "computer user's withers".

Why does neck and shoulder pain occur when working at a computer for a long time?

As mentioned above, one of the reasons is bad posture. A long tilt of the head causes static muscle tension, their overwork, which leads to a feeling of stiffness and pain in the neck and shoulders.

In addition, an insufficient level of physical activity leads to the gradual development of atrophy of the muscles of the neck and back - the muscles eventually cease to support our spine in the correct physiological position.

The cervical spine by nature bears an increased load (weight of the head, a large number of movements). Due to the weakening of the muscles, the load on the cervical spine increases many times and contributes to the development of a degenerative-dystrophic process in the intervertebral discs, otherwise called osteochondrosis of the cervical spine.

With osteochondrosis, premature aging of the intervertebral discs occurs, they lose their elasticity and elasticity, cracks appear in them. Further progression of the disease turns into the fact that through the cracks of the intervertebral discs, the pulpous nucleus begins to gradually fall out, forming a hernia of the intervertebral disc.

The very first sign of osteochondrosis of the spine, experts include the appearance of pain in the neck and shoulders.

This symptom is called "cervicalgia" and its severity directly depends on the severity of pathological changes in the cervical spine.

Chronic pain in the neck and shoulders in people who are forced to spend a long time in front of a computer monitor is a reason for a mandatory visit to a doctor. The sooner cervical osteochondrosis is diagnosed, the more hope for successful treatment.

Modern medicine, unfortunately, can only slow down the further progression of the disease, but not restore damaged discs. Therefore, with an early start of treatment, when the degree of destruction of the intervertebral discs is minimal, the effectiveness of therapy is higher.

Treatment of cervical osteochondrosis includes:

• the appointment of drug therapy aimed at relieving reactive inflammation;
• relief of pain;
• improvement of metabolic processes in the intervertebral discs.

An important role in the treatment of patients with osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is played by manual therapy methods, medical massage, regular exercises. physical therapy. In some cases, a doctor may advise a patient with shoulder and neck pain to long work use special orthopedic devices at the computer.

Cervical osteochondrosis in people who spend a lot of time at the computer, it is much easier to prevent than to treat for a long time and sometimes to no avail. Prevention of pain in the neck and back when working at a computer comes down to following two simple rules:

1. In progress watch your posture, try to keep your head straight and change the position of the head and body as often as possible.
2. Provide sufficient level of physical activity. During the working day, take short breaks - “physical education breaks”, and in your free time, be sure to go to the pool or gym.

Oh those computers! And with the eyes of the problem - from them, and digestion with a figure suffer. And also the neck sometimes “screams” so much that it can’t be turned, it can’t be straightened. Let's, dear friends, today we will deal with this scourge: what and how it hurts, why there is discomfort and, most importantly: what to do when your neck hurts while sitting at a computer?

If after a few hours of sitting at the monitor there is severe pain in the neck, you still need to figure out if there is a direct causal relationship. It is possible that the source of the problem may be elsewhere. The most common causes of the disease:

• Consequences of injuries;
• Neuritis due to hypothermia;
• Tension due to weakness of the musculoskeletal system.

Yes, most often the muscles and bone apparatus simply get tired of long static stress, especially if the position of the body and head is unnatural. But we must start all the same in order to exclude other options.

Perhaps the day before there was a fall, a blow, other troubles that you immediately did not pay attention to, and then completely forgot about them. And the consequences remained, for example, in the form of a cracked vertebra or sprain. It is clear that in this case, the neck hurts when sitting at the computer, but the treatment will be different than with a different history. Only a doctor can understand the intricacies of diagnosis, and, most likely, with the help of hardware research methods.

Unpleasant sensations may appear after several hours of labor exploits in a draft or after too active rest in the very fresh air the day before. Result: a "cold" neck, as we say to ourselves. Doctors call this condition neuritis. You will need anti-inflammatory drugs (injections or tablets, ointments), as well as a variety of physiotherapy methods.

The third (of the most common) options: the neck hurts from the computer, or rather, not directly from it, but due to a long incorrect body position during work. More about it - below.

We are all a bit of "accountants"

These characteristic symptoms were called "accountant's withers" in the old days. Now, at the time of total computerization, most office workers have problems with the neck, shoulders, in combination with tension in the back of the head and associated syndromes. This is really the result of a sedentary lifestyle.

Static loads, lack of mobility, constant tilt of the head to the monitor cause muscle spasms. And also the deformation of the intervertebral discs. The matter is complicated by squeezing the nerves and blood vessels, this alone provokes quite strong discomfort.

In fact, this is the same osteochondrosis that a good half of the country's able-bodied population complains about. If measures are not taken in time, the pathology progresses. A hernia, sometimes more than one, also joins the degenerative-dystrophic changes.

How does this happen? After the formation of cracks in the intervertebral discs, a part of the nucleus pulposus falls into these "crevices". This formation is infringed upon movement, naturally, causing pain. They differ in degree of intensity and localization.

If we do not go to the doctor, but go, for example, to a familiar chiropractor, we can cause irreparable harm to our spine. A hernia cannot be warmed up and vigorously massaged, it is dangerous, it can lead to disability. Therefore, self-treatment, if possible, is only after a clear medical diagnosis has been made.

How to avoid neck pain

It is clear that it is better not to bring to a state where it becomes impossible to turn your head. Prevention of osteochondrosis and other cervical problems is quite simple. Simple gymnastics in the morning, small workouts every hour at work. Posture control during work, plus five minutes of available movements per hour - and we will avoid complications "on our neck."

An ideal after-work activity is swimming or shaping. Yes, just walk a couple of kilometers on foot and often turn your head, studying the environment. From the window of a car or bus you can’t see any details, life really flies by.

Let's say you are a purely busy person or you just don't like to exercise in public. No problem: the neck muscles can be stretched, strengthened at home, both before and after the working day.

There are the most simple exercises, available both at home and in the "office" office. You can slightly stretch the muscles by lowering your chin down, and then tilting your head to your shoulders, to one side and the other. Then we stretch the neck “like a goose”, after each movement we relax it, allowing it to “shrink” freely, under the weight of the head. Massage your neck with movements reminiscent of "kneading" dough. Then do the same with the shoulders.

Rub the head from behind, its occipital part and the place of articulation with the neck. It’s good if someone from relatives or colleagues helps with this, but it’s quite possible to handle it yourself. Finally, turn your head to the sides and circular motions clockwise and counterclockwise. Just be careful, especially if there are problems with the vessels!

Also watch a short video in which Alexandra Bonina talks about the main exercises during exacerbation cervical osteochondrosis.

Benefits, nuances and contraindications of massage of the collar zone

Much has been said about the benefits of massage, and it is undeniable. But the neck, or as they say otherwise, the collar zone, which includes adjacent parts of the body, is a special “territory”. Here are the most important vessels that feed the brain. That is why neck massage requires extreme care, caution. But if you do it yourself, you are unlikely to overdo it.

Even in this case, it is worth studying the list of contraindications, and this:

• arterial hypertension;
• Diseases of the heart and blood vessels;
• Oncological pathologies;
• Joint diseases during the period of exacerbation;
• Alcohol intoxication (or drugs);
• Quincke's edema, allergic reactions of a different kind;
• Skin problems in the areas to be massaged;
• Late pregnancy.

Neck massage in the absence of these problems will not only relieve muscle fatigue, but will also become a treatment for headaches, which often accompanies static body tension. If it is not possible to perform the procedure lying down, you can sit on a chair "back to front", pressing your chest to the back. Tilt your head down, then the most problem areas open, they become easier to work through.

We stroke the neck and shoulders, rub, beat with fingertips. We perform circular movements, kneading with the edge of the palm. Especially gently treat the muscles directly adjacent to the spine in the cervical region. You can finish by rubbing with honey. So we improve the blood supply to this area, let the muscles relax. The pain goes away automatically.

Summing up, let's say that a sedentary lifestyle can and should be turned into a more dynamic one. By doing this, we will solve several problems at once, including getting rid of discomfort in the neck and shoulder area. Read the site, recommend it to friends, stock up on good advice and positive. See you soon!

Complaining of constant headaches? The reason may be a favorite chair. Has your vision deteriorated? The relationship is the same, albeit slow, but direct. Moreover, the comfort and anatomy of the chair will not count.

“Comfort is a conditional concept in many respects,” our expert believes, osteopath Boris Protasov. Comfortable doesn't always mean right. It is important to find the golden mean between correctness and comfort.”

The light at the end of the tunnel syndrome

The search for this golden mean is always individual. More and more professions are associated with in a sedentary manner life. This means that attention is not only to the chair, but also to the table. And at the table - to the hands. They should neither sag between the chair and the table, nor rise above them.

Doing a long monotonous sedentary work, a person will sooner or later encounter the so-called tunnel syndrome - disorders of the peripheral nervous system that are caused by pinching of the nerves in their natural tunnels. There is pain in the wrists, and the hands begin to go numb - right hand, which holds a computer mouse, or both at once, when a person hammers at the keyboard for hours. The reason is a kind of "suffocation" of the nerves in their natural "cases". At a minimum, pain in the hands, as well as the weakness and fuzziness of their movements, a person cannot avoid.

Tunnel syndrome is increasingly common in people professional activity which is associated with the tension of individual muscle groups. And the result is damage to the nerve roots and plexuses, as well as cranial and peripheral nerves.

How to avoid it? There are no clear algorithms. Comfortable armrests of the working chair will help one person, allowing you to maintain a right angle of the bend of the arm at the elbow. And the other is used to keeping his elbows on the table. Criterion: the angle of the arm bend is 90 °, it should be adhered to.

Wrong chair?

After long sitting a person should not feel tired. If the neck becomes numb, there is tension in the muscles of the back and lower back, this is an unequivocal call: we urgently need to correct the situation.

And this is not a reason to run for expensive "anatomical" furniture. If a person sometimes says that this particular chair or armchair is made as if for him, then first of all he notes that he voluntarily or involuntarily picked up furniture that was convenient for him.

“Alas, more often comfortable furniture is selected involuntarily,” says Boris Protasov. - And this should be the result of an analysis of your feelings. The result of the search and competent placement of surrounding objects.

The simplest example: if a person is used to sitting too low, his head also gets used to being thrown back. As a result, lordosis of the cervical region occurs. Too high a TV screen or computer monitor can also lead to lordosis.

From posture problems to neurology

And the price of lordosis? The arteries of the cervical region are registered in the neck, supplying oxygen to the brain and ensuring the outflow of blood. With our habitually wrong landing, we create for ourselves, firstly, those same headaches - migraines. This is followed by a gradual deterioration of vision. Apotheosis - detachment of the retina. In any case, sitting too low, we create problems with intracranial pressure. By the way, the “mirror situation”, when a person sits too high, leads to kyphosis, which is commonly called stoop. A stooped man with his wrong position at the table "clamps" chest and creates breathing and lung problems. Choosing the wrong furniture, we create neurological problems. The spine is like a case that protects spinal cord, which in turn governs the secondary autonomic nervous system. It is this “periphery” that is responsible for those questions that we do not think about: “How do we breathe? How do we maintain body temperature? Why are we sweating?" Explain the relationship between the elementary incorrectly selected table, chair and general condition can be long. Isn't it easier to eliminate errors at the very beginning, guided by the principle of "convenient - not convenient"?

Landing Rules

"Organizing workplace and a recreation area, you need to focus on the state of the body, - our expert is sure. - If you come home from work and your neck hurts, be sure to understand tomorrow that the workplace is organized incorrectly. If at home, resting, you get up with an even heavier body, see if everything is comfortable for you. Do you constantly watch TV with your head turned halfway? Expect trouble."

A lounge chair should not only be comfortable, but comfortable. Here it is important to look at the position of the legs. In a "falling" chair, a person necessarily stretches his legs. So comfortable for the joints. But in the end, the knees are high. And it would be right if the legs were bent at a right angle. It will be easier to get up, and the skeleton will not experience additional stress. Even in a chair or back of a sofa, support for the back and head is desirable.

And still it is necessary to sit correctly at the wheel. For example, if the driver leans back in his seat, then he should stretch his arms forward so that his hands hang from the steering wheel. At the same time, the hands should be bent. You can't drive with outstretched arms. This will lead to rapid fatigue.

Moreover, she needs to move up and down, sideways and back. However, when working at a computer, we are constantly forced to look directly at the screen to make out tiny flickering letters - when we turn our heads, there is a risk of missing something important. The head must be fixed, and the neck does not move at all, even during breathing. This creates an incredible load on the articular joints of the spine.

If you sit for too long in the same position without changing the position of your head, then the joints, which are naturally supposed to constantly move, coarsen.

Prolonged work at the computer inevitably leads to coarsening of the joints. Moreover, the head needs to maintain a stable position, because with any movement the eyes can lose focus. So it turns out that the muscles of the neck are tensed all the time along with the muscles of the shoulders and upper back. Even the muscles of the lower back are subjected to additional stress, which can affect the movements of the torso. However, now we are most interested in the tension of the muscles of the neck.

So, in addition to the need to maintain an upright posture, which is the responsibility of precise postural muscles, the brain also forces us to keep our eyes on the screen. So numerous spasms appear in the neck.

If every day to hold the neck in a similar position for many hours, then unfavorable conditions are created for gas exchange in the tissues, as well as for the removal of accumulated lactic acid, especially when working indoors, where oxygen access is limited and oxidation of by-products of vital activity is extremely difficult. As a result, a large amount of lactic acid accumulates, not to mention overstrain of the eye muscles (there are six different groups among them), because the eyes have to constantly focus on an object that is located at the same distance from the head.

In a situation where the muscles of the eyes and neck themselves are overly strained, and even the next project needs to be submitted on time, stress leads to even more tension. Such work is one of the most unhealthy occupations. Much worse than bungee jumping.

You might think that driving a car in this sense is no better. However, the person behind the wheel constantly glances in the rear and side mirrors, which changes both the focus of the eyes and the position of the head. The driving process is almost completely automatic. When you step on the gas or brake pedal, you don't have to give conscious commands to your feet, you don't have to think about it. Driving is one of the most complex automatic skills that can be taught to a person. But on a wide freeway, where most drivers still try to follow the established rules, you can relax a bit.

Knitting is also an automatic process that actively engages the motor centers of the brain. Yes, it involves repetitive hand movements, but you can also move your head and talk in parallel. Your neck is not fixed in one position. Crocheting or embroidery is perhaps more like working at a computer in this regard. As well as prolonged reading: even reading while lying in bed leads to overstrain of the neck muscles. Not only that, if you just lie on the couch or bed - and then the neck muscles can remain tense.

However, when you are engaged in all of these activities, the subconscious is more or less in control of the situation. But the same cannot be said about working at a computer. In addition, additional stress is associated with the need to ensure that you do not make mistakes. Even just chatting on the Internet, you must constantly be ready for the appearance of new letters on the screen. If you work in a bank or trade on the stock exchange, you cannot afford a single mistake. Your duties must be carried out impeccably. One tiny inaccuracy - and the authorities will certainly find out whose fault this happened. The burden of responsibility can be truly unbearable. Computers are a noose around the neck of mankind.

Prolonged improper handling of the neck can lead to degenerative damage to the intervertebral discs, and later to degeneration of the articular joints. But both problems can be easily avoided.

Treatment of neck pain associated with computer work

If you spend at least six hours a day at the computer, then you should, if not daily, then at least every other day, massage the neck area. It is recommended to independently massage the muscles of the jaw, temples and neck muscles. This must be done regularly - there is no other option. Otherwise, problems will inevitably accumulate. There are panic attacks, neck pain and severe stress, and all due to the fact that the muscles of the neck are too tense. The vertebral arteries are compressed, which contributes to the development of Ali syndrome. If you work at a computer, you must constantly engage in prevention.

Such pains, as a rule, are not associated with pinched nerves, but are rather of a spondylitis nature - this muscle pain due to muscle tension. Most often, during swimming or performing simple exercises, the muscles relax and the pain goes away. However, when it appears, you need to take preventive or therapeutic measures, since sometimes massage of the local area does not help get rid of tension and develops chronic pain in the neck, interfering with normal sleep. The principle here is the same: you toss and turn in bed, and every time you think about something unpleasant, a long spasm seizes the neck muscles, as a result of which the access of blood and oxygen to muscle tissue decreases.

I emphasize: the tension of the neck muscles in this case is associated mainly with the accumulation of lactic acid. Remember that head movement does not necessarily prevent the eyes from focusing on the screen. The eye muscles work together enough to cope with this task. Thus, slight movements of the head while working at the computer allow both the neck and the eyes to constantly move. Such an approach, of course, does not guarantee a complete elimination of the problem, nor will it become a worthy alternative to the treatment prescribed by a doctor, but it is still very useful.