With the development of the times, although cervical spine pain is not as common as waist pain, about 50% of people will experience severe neck pain attacks in their lifetime. Neck pain is more common among those who sit at a desk or work in front of a computer every day. I believe everyone has this feeling. When you sit in front of the computer and keep your neck in the same position for more than an hour or several hours, your cervical spine will inevitably get sore.
Next, let’s take you into the world of cervical spine and explore it!
The evolution of human beings can be said to be a wonder of nature. It is this miracle that allows us humans to develop to what we are today. Our spine can rotate, bend, extend, and move sideways, so it can be said that our spine activities are three-dimensional activities, and our movements may be nearly unlimited.
But with the development of the current era, we live in an environment where we exercise less and walk less. Eating, wearing, and traveling can be replaced by mobile phones. Look at our work gradually changing to a sedentary way. Being tied to a computer all day, looking down for long periods of time, and having to sit for longer periods of time every day.
But starting from our body, our spine, its movement may be almost unlimited, but it now has to bear greater static pressure in order to maintain a long-term sedentary posture. In front of the desk (whether it can be raised or lowered), we only need to sit in the chair and type on the keyboard. But the way we work now is contrary to the activity of the spine itself! To put it simply, if the hardware and software are not suitable, how can it not cause problems?
When our computer and work documents are not at eye level, we have to lower our necks to maintain them. Heading down is a high-level factor that accelerates cervical spine degeneration. Cervical spine biomechanics research has found that when the cervical spine is in a flexion position (heading down), the intravertebral disc pressure is significantly higher than in the functional and backward position. When the head is lowered to 60 degrees, the cervical spine withstands The weight is approximately 34.4 kg. The arrangement of bones and muscles will change according to the direction of force. Long-term bowing will also directly affect our bone arrangement and muscle development, which will definitely have various effects on neck health.
Let’s talk about the impact of posture on the cervical spine:
When you work at your desk for a long time, your shoulders are always in a state of buckling, and the shoulders may also be shrugged. Therefore, for office workers, the most easily tense muscles are undoubtedly the trapezius muscles, and some deep neck muscles. The muscles are in a stretched and weak state. I think everyone is familiar with the term "head forward". When you look at the computer for a long time, your focus is no longer on your posture, so poor posture is also one of the causes of neck pain and discomfort.
If it is not adjusted in time, the curvature of the cervical spine may change. Incorrect cervical spine alignment will cause many problems, such as dizziness and numbness, cervical pain, cervical disc herniation, nerve compression, blood vessel compression and so on.
When you experience discomfort in your cervical spine, you can try the following actions to relieve pain!
◆ Trapezius stretching training:
In a sitting position, place one hand naturally on your waist and grab a fixed object (such as a chair seat), and let your shoulders on the fixed side sink and relax naturally. Wrap the opposite hand above the head, pinch the ear with the index and middle fingers, and stretch to the opposite side to relax the tense trapezius muscle. The stretching process should be slow and gradually increase the stretching amplitude.
◆ Deep neck flexor strength training:
Fix the elastic band behind your head, grab the elastic band with both hands, and pull the elastic band forward. Your head and neck resist the forward resistance of the elastic band. Keep your neck in a neutral position throughout the exercise.
◆ Angel on the wall:
Spread your feet as wide as your shoulders, try your best to lean against the wall at "five o'clock", and open your "angel wings" at the same time. Extend your hands horizontally, bend your elbows at 90 degrees, do a pull-down movement to tighten your shoulders downward, tighten your chin, and back Do not leave the back of the head away from the wall. Keep the "five points" close to the wall. Push your elbows toward the body. Feel the upper back tightening and the chest protruding forward. Do 10-15 reps in each group, two to three times each time. The group can improve the problem of rounded shoulders, hunched back and chest holding in teenagers.
If pain occurs during training, stop immediately!
These exercises can also be done in the office when you have neck discomfort or muscle tension.
Finally, let’s talk about how to avoid it and what should you pay attention to?
1. First of all, sitting posture in the office is very important. You should always remind yourself that you must stand up and walk around at a certain time, stretch your body, and pay attention to your posture at work.
◆ Adjust office chairs, computers and tables to appropriate positions.
◆ Adjust your sitting posture. Good sitting posture should use the lumbar support of the chair to maintain physiological curves and keep the head and neck upright.
◆ Do some stretching exercises or walk more if you sit in an office chair for a long time.
2. In addition to working time, sleeping is also the time when we spend the most time with you. Choose a comfortable pillow. The pillow must be able to maintain the height of the S-shaped physiological curve, and your shoulders should be slightly able to lie on the pillow.
3. Finally, no matter how good your body is, it will be eroded bit by bit if you don’t exercise. Find an exercise you are interested in doing while resting. You can also perform functional training on your neck to avoid keeping your cervical spine stiff.
4. If neck discomfort has affected your life, it is recommended to seek help from a professional medical institution.
Neck braces can play an auxiliary role in stabilizing the cervical spine, but you still need to pay more attention to your posture in daily life. Training will be of greater help to you.
