Many people engaged in hard physical labor are jealous of 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 in 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 greater the 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, and regular exercise therapy. In some cases, a doctor may advise a patient with pain in the shoulders and neck to use special orthopedic devices when working at a computer for a long time.
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:
- In progress watch your posture, try to keep your head straight and change the position of the head and body as often as possible.
- 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.
Dear ladies, most of us work in the office from 9.00 to 18.00 from Monday to Friday. Naturally, at the computer (where without it).
We come in the morning, sit down at our desk, turn on our favorite computer and start working for the good of the company. And often we work so hard that by the evening we feel a little stiff.
Our neck is especially affected. If you are now 20-25 years old, then you still may not notice how tired your neck muscles are for the whole day. If you are 35-40 years old, admit that from time to time you are tormented by pain in the neck, and doctors are talking about the beginning of cervical osteochondrosis.
small test
Sitting right at your desk, look to your right. Looked? Now the result: if your head rotation is 90 degrees, congratulations: your neck is still (!) in order. If you are able to turn your neck at an angle less than 90 degrees, it's time to think about the fight against clamps and the active prevention of osteochondrosis.
What to do?
Everything is simple. Take time to stretch your neck during the working day. We offer you a mini-set of exercises for the neck, which you can perform right at the workplace. The complex will take you no more than 4-5 minutes. It is advisable to do the complex at least 2 times a day.
What is important to remember?
All exercises for the neck are performed on a stretched, even spine, carefully and slowly so as not to injure the muscles.
Exercises
The starting position (IP) for all exercises is standing or sitting, legs shoulder-width apart, the spine is stretched (the crown of the head is stretched to the ceiling), the chin is kept parallel to the floor.
1. We say "yes!"
From the IP, slowly lower the chin to the chest, stretching the back of the neck. We return the head to the IP.
2. "Tumbler"
From the IP, slowly tilt the head to the right shoulder. We return to IP. We repeat the same to the left shoulder.
We repeat these two exercises 3-4 times.
3. "Hi, neighbor!"
From the IP smoothly, until it stops, turn the head to the right, then to the left. We repeat 3-4 times. Important! Make sure that the spine during this exercise was stretched, and the head turned strictly horizontally.
4. "Floor-ceiling"
Great exercise! In addition to the muscles of the neck, we will also pull the side surface of the body. So, while in the IP, they put their hands clasped in a lock on the back of the head. Lowered the chin to the chest until it stops, hands exert a slight pressure on the back of the head for maximum stretching of the neck muscles.
From this position, turn your head to the side and up, trying to look at the ceiling. We feel how pleasantly the lateral muscles of the body stretch.
5. "And the neck is a swan!"
Now we will try to make our neck as long as that of swans!
Being in the IP, we put the right hand on the left shoulder and pull the shoulder down.
From this position, we move the head in a semicircle down to the chest, and then back and up.
We stretch the lateral muscles of the neck well.
6. Let's remember the shoulders!
Since our head is on our shoulders, stretching our neck, we should also remember about them.
From the IP at the same time we raise two shoulders as high as possible, to the ears. Slowly squeeze the shoulders as low as possible. We repeat 5-7 times.
7. Bonus!
The next exercise develops the muscles of the neck well, training their flexibility and elasticity. But it is better to do it at home, at least warn your work colleagues in advance what you will be doing now.
Sitting, with a straight back, we begin to write out a number from 0 to 9 in the air with our charming nose. From the outside, you will look mysterious, but later everyone will envy the contour of your face and the clarity of the chin line!
Have a nice and useful workout!
If you sit at a computer for a long time, pushing your head forward, or lower it, looking at a smartphone, the neck muscles have a hard time. Constant tension causes stiffness and pain.
Lifehacker collected exercises Yoga for chronic neck pain: a pilot randomized controlled clinical trial. , Yoga for Chronic Neck Pain: A 12-Month Follow-Up for stretching and strengthening the neck, shoulders and chest, which will relieve pain and help to avoid them in the future.
When Exercise Doesn't Help
This complex is not designed to treat specific disorders. If you have been diagnosed with osteochondrosis, herniated discs or other diseases, a doctor should prescribe gymnastics.
If the pain does not stop for several days, increases or is accompanied by headaches, nausea, fever and seek medical help as soon as possible.
What exercises to do
The complex consists of two parts: simple stretching and muscle strengthening exercises and safe yoga asanas.
Exercise at least three times a week, and even better every day.
If pain occurs, stop immediately. After the exercise, the stretched area should feel relaxed and soft.
How to stretch and strengthen the muscles of the neck and shoulders
You will need a chair. Sit on the edge, straighten your back, lower and straighten your shoulders. Do each exercise for 10-15 seconds.
1. Turns and tilts
13. Transfer of hands behind the head
Grab the ends of the towel, pull it tight and move your straight arms up. Move the upper part of the body forward and take the straight arms with the towel further behind the head.
How to do yoga exercises
Follow the rules carefully and do not hold your breath. Hold each pose for 30 seconds.
1. Half tilt forward with emphasis on the wall (simplified uttanasana)
Stand up straight at a distance of two steps from the wall facing it. Place your feet hip-width apart for comfort. From this position, bend at the hip joint and lean forward with a straight back to a 90° angle between the body and legs. Put your hands on the wall.
Try to straighten and stretch as much as possible. Hold the pose for 20-30 seconds.
2. Warrior Pose II (Virabhadrasana)
Stand straight, spread your legs wide, point your toes forward, raise your arms to the sides, connect and straighten your fingers.
Rotate your right foot 90° to the right. Bend the right leg at the knee to a right angle or close to it, move the left leg back. Distribute the weight between both legs.
Twist your pelvis, stretch your back, lower your shoulders. Try to open your pelvis and chest. Repeat the pose on both sides.
3. Twisting (bharavajasana)
Sit on the floor, bend your right leg at the knee, bring your lower leg out and place your heel next to your pelvis. Bend the left knee, place the left foot on the right thigh.
Distribute the weight between the two sitting bones, stretch the spine up. Place your right hand on your left knee and turn your body and head to the left, grasp your left toe with your left hand. Repeat on the other side.
4. Child's pose
Get on all fours, connect your feet, and then lower your pelvis to your heels. Lean forward, straighten your back and stretch your straight arms in front of you, touch your forehead to the floor and completely relax in this position.
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 forceful 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 of the 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- These are pains in the neck that occur as a result of being in an uncomfortable position (long 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”). I.e - 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.
Here are the rules:
1. Both feet should be firmly planted on the floor (small chair or stand) and the knees under the table should be bent at a right angle.
2. The back must be kept at an even angle and fully supported by the back of the chair.
3. The child's elbows should be on the table.
4. The child should not rest his chest on the edge of the table.
5. So that the child does not slouch and lift his elbows high, the height of the table should correspond to the height of the child.
your neck.
As you can see, almost nothing is said about the neck, at least not directly. Let's try to find something about why sometimes the neck becomes numb at the computer, or frankly starts to hurt?
Why does neck and shoulder pain occur when working at a computer for a long time? Yes, because:
- The head weighs about 5 kg.
- neck muscles support these five kg in the correct physiological position.
- However, when tilted - the head begins to carry 19 kg !!!
How are your muscles? It is difficult for them to keep more than three times more weight in one position. For example, your handbag weighs 5 kg. Her hand is habitually wears. You even wave it as you move. And now put a weight of 15 kg in your bag - your comfort will disappear somewhere.
Prolonged tilt of the head causes static muscle tension, their exhaustion, 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 neck muscles. Due to weakening muscles, the load on the cervical spine increases many times and contributes to the development in intervertebral discs of the degenerative-dystrophic process, otherwise referred to as osteochondrosis of the cervical spine.
All ... sailed. So much for idle sedentary work - led to disability (((
How to avoid osteochondrosis of the cervical vertebra?
Rule number 1. The first thing you need to pay attention to is the legs. Legs should be bent at the knees at 90 degrees. The feet should rest completely on the floor. In order for the legs to be in the correct position, adjust the height of the chair. If you don't have an office chair, find a high or low chair.
Rule number 2. The back must be kept straight or completely lean on the back of the chair, while maintaining the vertical position of the back. If your back from an office chair dangles (like mine), then you can put a pillow behind your back. Try not to sit with your back bent and your shoulders protruding forward.
Rule number 3. In order not to hurt the neck and head, you need to conveniently position the monitor. It is desirable that the monitor is located in front of you, and not to the side. When you sit at a computer for a long time and the monitor is located to your side, then your neck and eyes will quickly get used to being in this position (turned to the side), and this is very bad.
Rule number 4. In order for the eyes not to get tired quickly, the distance from them to the monitor should be a long outstretched arm. The eyes should look at the monitor in a straight line, and not from top to bottom. If you have a small monitor, you can put a box or a couple of books under it. It is advisable, after every hour spent at the computer, to get up and do a couple of physical exercises for the body and exercises for the eyes.
Rule number 5. Arms should be bent at the elbows. Do not sit at the computer with straight arms.
How to restore the elasticity of the muscles of the neck.
I remember at school we were forced to mercilessly tilt our heads down in front of us, throw them back, tilt them left and right. It turns out it loosens the cervical vertebrae.
Then how to strengthen the neck muscles?
1. Lean your palms on your forehead, lean your head forward.
2. Lean your palms on the back of your head - tilt your head back.
3. Lean with the palm of your hand, in the right temple, tilt your head to the right side.
4. Lean with the palm of your hand, in the left temple, tilt your head to the left side.
By performing these exercises, you can adjust the level of effort of the neck muscles by overcoming the resistance of your palms.
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Sincerely
- Valery