Chronic Neck Pain and How Massage Can Help

Here is a statistic to leave you awestruck:  It is estimated that worldwide, 6.6 billion people own smartphones – that is 83% of the global population!  Considering that on average, the time spent each day hunched over your phone or a computer screen is somewhere around three or more hours – every day! – it is no wonder that neck pain issues (sometimes known as ‘tech neck’) is a growing problem for the vast majority of planetary humans! 

When we look at a screen, especially as many people are now working from home and are not sitting in ergonomically designed chairs, our head moves forward and acts like a weighted fulcrum that puts stress on the neck, spine and upper back. Additionally, our shoulders tend to curl forward to complete the common and unnatural posture. When abnormal postures are held for hours at a time over multiple days, the back muscles can become overstretched and fatigued while the muscles at the front of the body can tend to shorten and atrophy from the curvature of the shoulders as we slouch over the screen or smartphone.  The situation can result in chronic pain, overworked (posterior) or atrophied (anterior) muscles. Over time, muscles ‘learn’ a new position which then results in a maladapted posture that can cause such reactions as chronic neck pain, headaches, dizziness, increased stress on the spine and poor respiration.

Massage can help restore the natural posture that ‘tech neck’ tends to override. The optimum technique to address a whole host of poor posture issues is Myofascial Release (MFR). This approach which uses light sustained pressure on targeted fascia and connective tissue is ideal to reduce pain in affected areas and to reestablish suppleness of the stressed musculoskeletal structure and return proper motion to the neck, back and shoulders that take the brunt of the mistreatment.

In addition to maintaining good health by scheduling regular therapeutic massage, there are some things you can do on your own to ensure you give your body the best chance at staying in good health despite the hours you spend on your phone or computer.

• Stretch in a doorway by holding on to the door jamb at shoulder height and moving one leg forward at a time
• Create a proper posture by sitting with your hips higher than your knees at a desk and allowing your arms to be at a 90-degree angle to the computer or smartphone
• Lie flat on your back with your shoulders parallel to the floor and place a rolled-up towel perpendicular to the spine

The smart-tech world of phones and computers is here to stay. With regular massage and some home care, you can give yourself the best chance of staying healthy and pain-free