Preventing Neck Pain with Posture & Ergonomic Techniques

Neck pain may occur as a result of various activities that add extra strain on your neck. An abundance of individuals frequently report feeling pain at the base of their skull and down into their shoulders, or they also often describe feeling a knot in their neck and stiffness. Many others also experience headaches along with their other symptoms. Severe cases of neck pain can impair a person’s ability to move their head and can even become serious enough to greatly restrict the individual’s ability to function to their fullest capacity, especially during the job.

If your neck pain worsens by the end of a long work day, it may be due to all the excess stress being placed on your neck while working. Consistently prolonged activities can affect bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons, joints and other tissues in the region of the cervical spine. Activities that cause these complications, for example, include an improper posture while sitting at a desk, incorrect lifting techniques, and repetitive movements of the arms and upper body. Holding your head forward to read a computer screen, a posture best referred to as forward head posture, is one of the most common types of improper postures. Research shows that simply using a computer for an extended period of time can cause or even aggravate neck pain. Also, when doing heavy lifting at work, the neck is as much at risk for damage or injury due to incorrect lifting techniques as the back. Furthermore, overusing the arms and upper body repeatedly can irritate their surrounding tissues, leading to degeneration or wear and tear damage.

Regardless of your job, ergonomics can help protect your neck from damage or injury. Ergonomics is the science of fitting a work environment to the job in a manner that is best fitting to the individual’s overall well being. For instance, if you work by a desk at a computer station, ergonomics takes into consideration how your desk, chair, and computer monitor should be positioned to reduce the stress on your neck and body. If you work in an industrial setting, ergonomics may involve teaching you about the most appropriate lifting techniques as well as using heavy equipment.

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