Office pain: neck pain among young white-collar workers

This is the 5318th article of Da Yi Xiao Hu

"Doctor, I have been having pain in the back of my neck recently, and it's accompanied by a noticeable stiffness. When I lower my head or twist my neck left or right, I can clearly feel a tendon hanging at the back, and the pain is unbearable." A young man in his early 30s complained painfully in the clinic.

"How long have you been in this pain? Do you work with your head down at a desk for a long time?" the doctor asked with concern.

"Doctor, to be honest, I have had this pain for a long time, but it keeps coming back. After it comes back for a while, it will come back again. It also comes back after I work with my head down for a long time. I also often get a stiff neck, which is very uncomfortable." The young man described the pain while touching the painful area.

"Based on your description, I think you may have cervical myofasciitis caused by long-term bowing of the head, which may have caused the cervical curvature to become straight or arched. You need a cervical spine X-ray to clarify." The doctor said earnestly.

Long-term bad postures such as lowering the head can easily cause changes in the curvature of the cervical spine. In mild cases, there will be pain in the back of the neck, and in severe cases, there will be pain in the neck that extends to the shoulder. If not corrected in time, it will cause cervical disc herniation over time, compress the nerves and induce symptoms such as radiating pain and numbness in the upper limbs. Severe cases require surgical treatment. The curvature of the cervical spine can be divided into straight cervical curvature and reverse cervical curvature according to the severity.

If we find that there is a problem with the cervical curvature, how should we treat it?

1. Self-adjustment at home : change the bad habit of lowering your head for a long time, and look at the computer and books at eye level while working; you can try applying hot compress to the painful area at the back of your neck at home, and be careful not to choose a very high pillow when resting at night. You can lower the height of the pillow appropriately, let your head tilt back, and try to change to a normal cervical curvature.

2. Physical therapy : Patients with stiff neck can try massage to relax muscles or electrotherapy in the hospital.

3. Patients can also perform functional training on their own : choose a standing position, put their feet firmly on the ground, keep their body upright, wrap the back of their neck with a towel, and push their hands forward and upward; keep the head and neck stable, inhale without moving, and when exhaling, stretch the head and neck backward a little, with a very small amplitude, and keep it stable.

4. Not only that, in daily life we ​​can also do some sports exercises to try to treat cervical curvature problems : such as swimming and playing badminton, but the exercise should be moderate and the time should not be too long. Adjust the exercise time according to the patient's own condition.

5. How to prevent cervical curvature problems :

1) Once symptoms related to the above cervical curvature problems appear, seek medical attention immediately and intervene promptly once confirmed.

2) Change the bad habit of lowering your head for a long time, and change the bad habit of lying on the sofa for a long time at home looking at your phone or watching TV, so as to keep your neck healthy.

3) After working at a desk for an hour or so, you should stretch your tense muscles and give your body a rest.

Although cervical curvature problem is a common cervical spine disease, as long as we understand its causes and hazards and take correct treatment and prevention measures, we can effectively protect our cervical spine health.

Author: The Tenth People's Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University

Pain Department Chief Physician Sun Shiyu