Relieving neck pain
Wednesday, September 3rd, 2014 | Exercise, Headaches, Neck Pain, Posture | No Comments
Neck pain is a common and debilitating problem. While some cases can be caused by serious conditions, according to Gini Davis, a physical therapist and owner of Crescent City Physical Therapy (a Physiquality member in New Orleans), the most common cause of neck pain is poor posture. This can be due to a variety of reasons:
- Sitting and standing incorrectly.
While it’s easy to recognize when someone else is slouching, it’s much harder to correct the behavior in ourselves. As Kristina Holland noted in a previous Physiquality blog, “Good posture takes self-awareness and effort to maintain correct alignment, whereas poor posture is giving in to the constant pull of gravity.”
- Looking at your gadgets.
Gini points out that many people look down at their laptop/iPad/iPhone/other electronic gadgets with the head forward and down, putting strain on the back of the neck. In fact, a 2012 study found that 90% of the subjects texted with their necks flexed, or bent at more than 10 degrees. The author, Judith Gold, told Forbes last year that “the more the participants in her studies texted, the greater the chance that they would experience neck or shoulder pain.” (And texting doesn’t just cause neck pain; excessive texting has also been shown to cause pain in the wrists, fingers and thumbs.)
