Neck Pain Support Blog

The Hidden Neck Pain Cause that your Kids May be Doing Daily

Our grandparents and parents may not be used to it, but more and more classrooms in the USA are now equipped with computers and kids are embracing this technology full force. Most kids now even have a computer in their bedroom. A new study reveals that teenagers who use the computer for long term have an increased incidence of neck pain.

This study, published in the journal, Cephalalgia, took place in Western Cape, South Africa among students grade 10 to 12. The study showed that there was a rise in the report of neck pain as the kids were using their computers more and more.

Leonie Smith, a Physiotherapist and other Australian researchers were involved in this 2006 at Stellenbosch University in Tygerberg, South Africa. Smith and colleagues analyzed duration of computer use and reports of headache and neck pain among 1073 students (65 percent girls), who were 16 years old on average. Among these students 48% attended schools that use computers.

Of the students enrolled in schools with computer training, 43 percent used computers for 8.5 hours or more per week. The researchers noted similar duration of use in just 5.5 percent of the students enrolled in schools without computer training.

"No clear association could be found between high hours of computer use and the presence of headaches," said Smith, despite common reports of headache among the students, and particularly female students.

By contrast, neck pain was more common among students who also reported longer hours of computer use, regardless of computer availability at school.

For instance, among the students who spent 5 or fewer hours using a computer each week, about 16% reported neck pain. For students that used the computer for 25-30 hours a week, approximately 48% reported neck pain.

Smith's team of researches states that their findings "have confirmed the need to educate new computer users (school students) about appropriate ergonomics and postural health."

Parents used to concerned about their kids watching too much TV- well now they will also have to be worried about their kids using the computer too much! What will be next?

SOURCE: : Cephalalgia, February 2009.

Additional Resources:

• New Job, New Pain at the End of the Day
• Making Your Workstation PainFree
• Having Proper Neck Posture While On the Computer
• The Neck Pain Relief Kit
• More Studies about Neck Pain

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I’m sore after using my new neck pillow for the 1st time.

This is often a completely common and normal finding we see after the 1st few times you use a new cervical support neck pillow, such as the cervical linear traction neck pillow. If your spine has no curvature or you are not used to using a pillow with good neck support this will often happen because it is something totally new for your body. Using the traction side of the cervical traction neck pillow can cause mild soreness in the neck for some patients, and therefore it is often recommended that the support side of the pillow be used.

The soreness will be a muscle spasm, sort of similar to if you went to the gym and worked out for the 1st time in a while. Use ice to relax and calm any soreness if you like. But for the most part, this soreness will dissipate as you get used to the new contours of your new pillow.

We often recommend using a new cervical support pillow for a short period of time gradually working up to using it all night. This will eliminate any chances of soreness.

On the other hand some people take to the pillow right away and do not experience any muscle soreness. Either way it is completely normal. The cervical linear traction neck pillow is the most popular on Arc4life.com and 9/10 people love it and swear by it.

Additional Resources:

How to Choose the Right Neck Pillow for Sleeping

More information about the Cervical Traction Neck Pillow

The Right Pillow for Headaches

Dealing with A Stiff Neck Can Be A Real Pain in the Neck

Neck Exercises for Neck Pain Relief

A DownLoadable E-book: the Neck Pain Relief Kit

Understanding A Disc Problem with a Jelly Donut: Herniated Disc or Slipped Disc?

Doctors and health professionals use many different terms to describe a problem in your disc. What’s the difference between a herniated and a slipped disc? Whats the difference between a prolapse or an extruded disc?

Well, I used to be a huge lover of donuts- my uncle owned “Holey Donuts” for a few years and my favorite donut of all time was the Jelly Filled donut- filled with cream, apple jelly and my favorite lemon jelly.

So today I want to help you understand a disc lesion and compare this with a jelly donut- and really you won’t believe how easy it is to understand.

Here is a normal disc. Each bone in your body is separated by a disc. Each disc has a strong outer layer called a annulus fibrosis and a softer inner part called the nucleus pulposus. A disc is made of an outer layer called the annulus fibrosus- within that annular fibrosis is the nucleus pulposus.

Lets discuss the 3 kinds of disc lesions: A bulging, contained or a non –contained disc. Here are the three types-

1. Bulging Disc- Pretend you are just starting to eat a jelly donut and you press the donut down with the palm of your hand just lightly. Not enough so that the jelly comes out, but enough that the donuts actual circumference expands.

   A bulging disc can also be known as a bulging annulus, disc bulge or a ballooning disc. This is a circumferential, symmetric bulge of the annular fibers.

   Disc bulges can occur as part of the natural aging process. When a disc degenerates it can flatten and bulge.

2. Contained Disc- Lets say you start to eat this jelly donut and this time you press down more firmly enough on the donut causing the jelly to almost come out but not quite. You may notice that one side of the jelly donut is bulged now, but your jelly doesn’t come outside- it remains contained within the donut. So here you have a “contained” disc. Also known as a protrusion, herniated disc, herniated nucleus pulposis, and a "slipped" disc.

   In a contained disc the inside nuclear material migrates but is still contained by the outer fibers of the annulus fibrosus. Note that the disc material can migrate to the left or to the right, or sometimes into the center.

3. Non-Contained Disc- Lets say you are very anxious to eat your jelly donut- You press really hard on the donut and your jelly comes flying outside. It may stick to the outside of the donut (and you can see this jelly) or even land on your plate.

   Also known as a ruptured disc, prolapse, free fragment, sequestered disc, extruded disc, floating disc, free fragment, amputated disc or migrated disc. In this situation, the inside nuclear disc material has broken though the annulus fibrosus. It is called non contained because it is not contained within the annulus fibrosus.
   
   

   So there you have it- Next time you hear that someone has a "slipped" disc, you'll understand it could be a herniated disc where the nuclear material is contained within the outer ring of the disc.
   
   

   Bottom line, no matter if you have been diagnosed with a herniated or a bulging disc or even a ruptured disc, pressure can be put on the nerve causing significant pain or numbness and tingling.
   
   

I think I will treat myself to a lemon filled donut after all this talk about donuts.

Picture Source: Yokum and Rowe, Essentials of Skeletal Radiology, Edition II,Volume I page 414

Additional Resources:

• Severe Neck Pain from a Herniated Disc, What are Your Treatment Options?
• Neck Pain resulting from a C5, C6, C7, or C8 Radiculopathy
• The causes of a cervical radiculopathy
• Dr.Bellingers Neck Pain Relief Kit shows you the proper neck posture for day to day activities and exercising
• Cervical Radiculopathy?? How will Your Doctor Determine the natur of your neck and arm pain

6 Ways to Improve Your Neck Posture

The 1st way to improve your neck posture is to simply be aware of it. For example try to keep your head and back straight vs looking down always or reading constantly with your head down. Analyzing your workstation if you are spending a lot of time on the computer.

Next, do regular stretches and exercises to help improve posture and alignment.These neck exercises will also help with keeping your neck flexible and pain free.

Third, massage your neck to relieve tension and stress that many pull the spine out of place. Treat the tight muscles in your neck with topical creams such as Biofreeze natural Pain Relief Gel.

Fourth, see a chiropractor to have your spine checked for misalignments. That could be contributing to your poor posture.

Fifth, Reduce stress- overall stress and feeling down can wear you out mentally but also physically, and most people carry their stress right across their neck and upper back.

Lastly improve your neck posture by using a good neck pillow when you sleep. Most peple sleep with no support at all or often times to much of an incline. Try the neck traction support for the best support.

Additional Resources

• Can Forward Head Posture Cause Neck Pain
• Head Retraction Exercises: A Must for Forward Head Posture
• Making Your Workstation Pain Free
• The Emotional Impact of Neck Pain: Study Shows that Depression and Anxiety Play a Role
• Improve your posture and sleep with the right pillow
• End Neck Pain By Improving Posture
• Dr.Bellingers Neck Pain Relief Kit shows you the proper neck posture for day to day activities and exercising

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Why We Love Blogging at the Neck Pain Support Blog

I Love Blogging: Helping others through the Neck Pain Support Blog

- I started blogging in 2007 with my blog Improve Your Health Improve your Life- which talked about neck pain and lower back conditions. After moving over from blogger to typepad, i realized there was so much more i could do with my blog. That's when I started the Neck Pain Support Blog I started getting comments and questions about specific problems that people were having. I enjoy helping out with my expertise as often as possible. As a Chiropractor I see patients everyday that suffer from neck pain, headaches, stiff neck, radiculopathies etc- this is one way i can help people treat thier health conditions naturally. So here is my list of why i love blogging:
• I Love to help people solve common health problems
• I Love to see people do natural treatments for common health conditions such as a stiff neck, instead of heading towards the medicine cabinet
• I Love to introduce new products for neck pain relief
• I Love to present the latest research that is being done on neck pain and neck pain treatments. For example in January 2008, we presented a Danish research study that showed how chronic neck pain can be helped with physical exercise
• I Love to interact with my readers
• I Love to see my readers live the most comfortable pain free life possible- naturally. Our blog post Your Daily Neck Pain Free Regime shows readers how to live a neck pain free life everyday.
• I Love to receive comments from my readers
• I Love to introduce my readers to new articles and effective treatment for neck pain
• I Love to explain different conditions so that people can understand them in everyday language. For example, back in November 2008 we did a series on cervial radiculopathy.

So there, those are the reasons why I love to blog !

Why Posture is a Window to your Health

Wouldn’t it be eye opening if we could peek inside our bodies to see what is going on? To have the ability to look around, assess our joints, our muscles, and see if everything is working right. Well, today technology is getting pretty close- MRI’s, CT Scans, ultrasounds- all give us a “picture” in black and white of what is going on with regards to structure.

One way to assess yourself at home is to look at your posture. How you stand, sit, walk, and present yourself to the world.

To start; what is good posture? If you look at somebody from the front, their shoulders should be aligned, hips should be aligned, ears should be level. If you look at somebody from the side, the ear should be in line with the shoulder, in line with the hip, and the lateral knee and the lateral ankle.

When you stand, do you always lean to one side? When you sit, do you always slouch? When you drive, do you always lean to the right, putting your elbow on the console? When you sleep do you always tilt your head to one side?

All of these habits will cause your spine to shift. Think about it. A mom who always carries her kids on her left hip may find that after six months, that hip is now higher than the other because over the months she was constantly hiking that hip higher to hold her son or daughter. Now, after doing this hour after hour and day after day, her pelvis and spine have gotten used to this position and have shifted permanently.

What bad postures do you find yourself in day after day?

Remember that the same posture over time will cause the spine and/or pelvis to shift. If things shift out of the normal alignment, as described above, then we can get nerve pressure.

Poor posture can increase muscle tension and spasms. It can cause firing of one side of the muscles more than others. If some muscles have to work harder than others, it creates pain and stiffness. One thing you can do is to get your feet checked by the chiropractor. A custom made shoe orthotic can also make a big difference. Differences in the arches of your feet can create imbalance. This plays a big role in the kinetic chain of your body. Problems in the feet lead to more stress in the knees- which in turn can lead to hip problems. The chiropractor can also notice if your feet have excessive flare in one foot more than the other. Normal posture means that the feet should only have a small amount of flare. Finally, are you flat footed? This condition is known as excessive pronation. It can cause a postural imbalance causing one hip to be higher than the other- usually more on one side than the other. It can produce small twisting motions in the hips and knees which may be one reason why you have stiffness in one hip or one knee versus the other.

Having good posture means you can smile and be pain free when you look through the window to see your spine. You’ll have better joint mobility, prevent injuries from taking place, have better balance and overall wellness.

Consult with a chiropractor about your foot pain. Not only can they suggest and fit you for orthotics, they can also look for misalignments in the spine.

Chiropractic offices in the USA and Canada:

Mississauga, ON Canada www.drdev.ca
Glastonbury, CT: www.ctbackdr.com
Bowling Green, KY: CrouchFamilyChiro
Seneca Falls, NY: Rebecca Price D.C.

Email Neck Pain Support if you are looking to get fitted for orthotics or want to get your spine checked

Additional Resources

• Loss of Curvature in the Neck- "Military Neck"
• Can Forward Head Posture Cause Neck Pain?
• Head Retraction Exercises- A Must to Correct Forward Head Posture
• Making Your Workstation Pain Free
• Why Is Slouching So Bad
• Improve your posture and sleep with the right pillow

Visit the Neck Pain Super Store

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New Job...New Neck Pain at the End of the Day...

A friend of time recently lost her job at StarBucks but was quickly able to find a new one. She was pretty excited. The new job involved customer service at an online shoe store. After one week, she was complaining about soreness and tightness in her neck at the end of the day. She loved her job, but she had to do something for neck pain relief.

Starting a New Job means you have to get ready for a new position at work and new demands. Sitting in one positon for a prolonged period of time can put a lot of stress on your neck, and upper back area. Look at the ergonomics of your seat chair and how your computer is positioned. Here are some things to specific things to consider at a new job:

• Look at each component of your workstation. For example, Your chair: Does it have a good lumbar support and neck support? Does it have a thick padded seat? Padded and adjustable arms can make a huge difference. Finally, does it have dual wheel casters so you can move around easily? Can you adjust the height and do you have the ability to tilt the seat? I know that sometimes at a new job you don't have control over the ergonomics of your workstation, but this can make a huge difference when it comes to your comfort. Having proper neck posture at your computer desk is an important aspect for working neck pain free and headache free.
  
  
• Take frequent breaks at work. I know this is difficult but even just a 2-3 minute of rolling your shoulers back and forth, standing up and stretching, looking away from your screen can make such a big difference in decreasing pain intensity.

• Do Neck exercises everyday. These involve bending your head forward and backward, bending to the side and turning your head and neck. You want to make sure you hold the stretch for at least 15-20 seconds. With stretches you never want to do it to the point of pain, only to the point of feeling a stretch. Try them every while taking a hot shower. This facilitates and make it easier to stretch.

• Ice your neck and upper back muscles. This helps decrease inflammation and provides pain relieving analgesic effect. Ice for 10-15 min after work if possible. Get an ice pack that is designed for the cervical spine and upper back: 6x20 dimensions for the neck, 9x16 for the upper shoulders+neck

• Get treatment for your neck and upper back muscles. Sitting in one position for a long time can put a lot of stress on your body. What ends up happening is that you may assume certain positions that cause over firing of muscles- making them tight and sore by the end of the day. One example is the shoulder muscles. You may be unconsciously raising your scrunching up your shoulders or perhaps holding your head and neck in one position for a long time. This can happen while on the computer or with talking on the telephone. The hot spots are going to be the upper trapezius, the cervical paraspinals, the rhomboid muscles (in between the shoulder blades), and the thoracic paraspinals. Often times, these muscles will develop trigger points, which are tender points that are the source of a lot of pain. They can also refer pain to other areas. To work out these trigger points see a massage therapist who can pin point the exact areas of tenderness. Also, you can use a home t.e.n.s unit, biofreeze natural pain relief gel, or even heat or ice.

• Get treatment by a chiropractor. They will be able to diagnose a misalignment in your cervical or thoracic spine. A chiropractic visit may involve a consult, a history of previous accidents or trauma, an exam (orthopedic/ neurological exam), range of motion studies (how far can you move your neck in certain ways), motion palpation of your spine and maybe x-rays if needed. Also they have the ability to do therapy such as traction, heat, ice, electric stimulation, mobilization of your spine- whatever is necessary to feel better and function more optimally. If you are going to involved in a stressful job, having chiropractic care can keep you pain free.

What tips and tricks do you use at your job to keep yourself comfortable and pain free?

Picture Source: MashGet on Flickr.com

Additional Resources

• How to Prevent Neck Pain at your Desk Job
• The Relationship between Neck Pain and Stress
• Making Your Workstation Pain Free
• Remedy for A Stiff Neck

Visit the Neck Pain Super Store

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