Sore neck and back! What gives relief?

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TradeFind

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Wannabe Geek

#16506 13-Oct-2007 09:54

I'm interested in hearing about what you do to relieve neck and back pain from leaning over the PC for hours on end, and your views on kyphosis (rounding forward of the shoulders and curvature of the spine). Do you know if there's a self-help solution out there?

mobygeek

307 posts

Ultimate Geek

#90898 13-Oct-2007 11:15

If you want to spend a bit of money in the first place, you could go to a physio who can help with the neck and shoulder rounding - they will give you exercises. I have a lump on my neck from carrying babies on my back and I just have to pull my finger out and pay up! (Plus they reckon it can be fixed...) I always try to stop myself from slouching, so, woman to woman, of course, put your best feature forward, and make sure you sit up straight! Trust me, I have a crook back, slouching is definitely out. Try a phone book under your feet, and stand and do stretches every so often... Hope it helps.

NZtechfreak

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#90900 13-Oct-2007 11:37

TradeFind:
I'm interested in hearing about what you do to relieve neck and back pain from leaning over the PC for hours on end, and your views on kyphosis (rounding forward of the shoulders and curvature of the spine). Do you know if there's a self-help solution out there?

Hi there!

I'm a Fifth year medical student, so I'll offer some assistance, which of course is in no way intended to take the place of advice from a qualified medical professional. It would be worth having at least one consultation with a doctor to have this assessed. While other disciplines like Osteopaths, Chiropractors, Physiotherapists, acupuncturists etc etc may well be of assistance, a doctor is best placed to rule out non-musculoskeletal causes.

One slight correction: Kyphosis (commonly "hunchback") doesn't really refer to rounding forward of the shoulders, only the outwards curvature of the spine - as in the left picture illustrating kyphosis of the thoracic spine:

The first thing is prevention - how are the ergonomics of your workstation (I use the term loosely here, since you didn't mention if this is work related)? Heres a website that can give you some pointers http://ergo.human.cornell.edu/ergoguide.html If this is work related your employer should really spring for a proper worksite assessment by an Occupational Therapist (OT). If this isn't work related, but you are seriously being impacted by this then you might even consider paying for an assessment yourself (try calling your local ACC branch - they should be able to point you in the direction of a well qualified OT for this kind of assessment). Structured breaks and other elements of working conditions should also be taken into account.

Are you reasonably fit and active? An exercise program for general fitness with a component specifically geared to improving posture/back strength and so forth would also likely be of assistance in prevention. A physiotherapist would probably be the best person to advise you of which specific exercises to do.

Also on the topic of prevention - its worth casting the net a little wider when you think about what is causing/exacerbating this problem. Often psychological conditions (stress and depression being two good examples) can manifest as musculoskeletal complaints, or certainly make them worse (lowered pain threshold). Now please don't get me wrong, I'm not for a second suggesting that this is "all in your head", only that considering things like stress may be worthwhile. I sincerely hope this won't cause any offence, I prefer to take a holistic approach, and it would be remiss not to mention it. Its interesting that people tend to find any suggestion along these lines from a doctor a reason to take offence, but almost any practitioner of complimentary and alternative therapies would also routinely screen for these.

Seeing an osteopath or chiropractor may well offer benefit. The only one I know personally is an osteopath on the North Shore, but I've found him excellent and his rates are exceptionally reasonble. If you are interested let me know and I will pass on his details.

Have you tried some simple analgesia? Panadol is good of course, but for musculoskeletal pain people tend to find non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) are generally more effective. I use them several times a month as I get bad headaches that emanate from my neck (ideally don't let your kids play in the front-row in schoolboy rugby!) and the relief is wonderful. Voltaren (diclofenac) is generally the most commonly prescribed one, but I'd recommend Naproxen as it actually has a better side-effects profile. I believe it is also available over the counter. If you've never used NSAIDs before then this is another good reason to see a doctor, or at the very least discuss using them with your pharmacist, as there are some problems (history of GI bleeding being the main one) they will want to screen for to ensure that you'll be OK to use them.

Acupuncture is difficult to advise you about in a particularly informed way. There is no specific evidence in respect of acupunture for this problem that I am aware of. There is good evidence for acupunture helping a number of complaints, for example it is as effective as medications for the prevention/relief of post-operative nausea, but there are also things it has been shown to be 'ineffective' for - relief of arthritic knee pain for example. For arthritic knee pain acupunture was only as effective as placebo, having said that the placebo effect was pretty significant in itself, so whether it works or not is rendered a little moot really; at the end of the day 50% of patients felt better subjectively which is enough for me to recommend a patient try it (also, it may still be exerting a therapeutic mechanism of action, just one that acupunturists don't intend and we are unaware of). On balance I'd recommend trying it, it almost certainy won't do any harm and may help.

Other non-medicative things that may help include arnica and/or antiflam creams. There isn't really a body of evidence to back the efficacy of these, but they're unlikely to do any harm, and anecdotally of course many people find them beneficial. I've used both and found them helpful. Same goes for other complimentary therapies really, they may not do anything, but most are unlikely to do any harm and therefore may be worth trying. I'd avoid chinese herbal preparations that are not purchased from a reputable pharmacy or healthstore - particularly anything with labels printed asian languages only as you can't see what's reported to be in them. I'm not trying to scaremonger, but there have been problems with these products containing high-dose steroids, and even poisonous heavy-metals.

I know you asked about self-help solutions specifically, and there are only a few of them above, but I hope that some of the other ideas may also be of use. Finally, I can't stress enough that it would be worth seeing a doctor at least once regards this!

Twitter: @nztechfreak
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tonyhughes

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#90911 13-Oct-2007 12:35

I visit a doctor regularly, and a chiropractor occasionally as needed. Always feel like a million dollars after a chiro appointment.

TradeFind

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Wannabe Geek

#90937 13-Oct-2007 18:37

Wow! That was an amazing reply NZtechfreak (Actually I'm jealous.... I wish I had that much time in my day... ie: It just took me 2 hours to mow my lawns) your reply was so comprehensive... and tony thanks for your comments also.

Personally, I'm flexible, strong, stress-free (we'll I work on it) and pain-free... thanks to a fantastic exercise routine that I perform whenever I feel myself tightening up from too many hours on my PC. I also teach the exercises and everyone who I have worked with who has developed a form of kyphosis actually does have tight pecs and shoulders rounding forward, plus tight lower back muscles, compressed muscles around C1, C2 etc etc.....

If your interested in learning more about the exercises, check out futuregym.net. This program completely eliminates the need for external treatment (which can only ever provide short term relief) and teaches people how to self-manage injuries, neuromusculoskeletal deformitiesand pain-relief.

If anyone on Geekzone is looking like kozimoto's cousin and wants to straighten up and get rid of the pain....let me know and I'll help. Cheers pip

TradeFind

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#90939 13-Oct-2007 18:56

Mobygeek, thanks for your comments too! Have added you as a friend and look forward to chatting.

NZtechfreak

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#90948 13-Oct-2007 20:01

Hey no problem! That reply didn't take too long at all actually.

It was right off the top of my head other than a quick google search for some advice on ergonomics (adding .edu to the search string is one good way to quickly find reasonably reputable information on the net, so much trash around!), and a google images search for kyphosis (I use image search a lot to prepare powerpoints, visual impact). Its probably an area I know reasonably well both from my studies, and having worked for ACC for nearly I year before I started at med school.

Regarding the rounded shoulders: It is virtually universal with kyphosis, its a pretty inevitable postural consequence of having the outwards curvature of the thoracic spine. I only meant to point out that the term kyphosis strictly speaking only refers to the curvature of the spine, thats just the poorly-repressed anal med student in me escaping its straight jacket for a few moments and needing to be a stickler.

I will definitely check out futuregym, thanks.

Twitter: @nztechfreak
Blogs: HeadphoNZ.org

nate

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#91194 16-Oct-2007 08:39

TradeFind:
I'm interested in hearing about what you do to relieve neck and back pain from leaning over the PC for hours on end, and your views on kyphosis (rounding forward of the shoulders and curvature of the spine). Do you know if there's a self-help solution out there?

Could you should enlist the services of your partner/spouse/better half to ease your pain? :)

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stevonz

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#91213 16-Oct-2007 10:19

Also, the ACC has a website that details exercises to help avoid 'injuries' while sitting at a workstation.

Cheers, Stevo

o0steveo0o

25 posts

Geek

#93282 1-Nov-2007 13:11

TradeFind:
I'm interested in hearing about what you do to relieve neck and back pain from leaning over the PC for hours on end, and your views on kyphosis (rounding forward of the shoulders and curvature of the spine). Do you know if there's a self-help solution out there?

Hi, im guessing the easyiest way to fix this is to sit up straight in your chair (dont slouch), get a good chair and have the screen eye level. Simple yet effective. :)

Prevention is better than cure... unless cure involves some groovy legit drugs :P

pando

235 posts

Master Geek

#93293 1-Nov-2007 14:42

Agree with steveo here, while you're asking about how to relieve the pain, preventing it in the first place is a huge help and saves having to visit physio/chiro or whatever. Our work has options to get professionals in to set you up and we have a workpace program that interrupts you with an annoying lockout of your machine with images or excercises to do for the 5 mins you're locked out.

adw

175 posts

Master Geek

#93933 6-Nov-2007 14:20

I use a Bambach saddle seat which helps with the way you sit at your desk and have my workstation set so that I can stand when I want to to - this seems to work really well.

Rhino

17 posts

Geek
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#94882 12-Nov-2007 17:55

Hey how about you try some Deep tissue massage. Works every time for me! it is really really great!

ZollyMonsta

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#94898 12-Nov-2007 18:44

Was just at a chiropractor today.. put my back out or something. Previously been for sore neck. Can make a huge difference. However with your query it might pay to also seek advice from your doctor (who can refer you to a physiotherapist).

Cheers,
Grant

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Rhino

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Geek
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#94900 12-Nov-2007 18:54

ZollyMonsta: Was just at a chiropractor today.. put my back out or something. Previously been for sore neck. Can make a huge difference. However with your query it might pay to also seek advice from your doctor (who can refer you to a physiotherapist).

Cheers,
Grant

Hey i agree a chiropractor can be great for pain like when somthing gets 'put out' but when ya go to a chiropractor and your pain gets Fixed but returns in a matter or hours days or weeks, you may need to see a good deep tissue massage therapist to work out the tight muscles. By all means i am no expert but ya got to remember tight muscles are 'Tight' and muscles are connected to bones when they are 'tight' they restrict and would in some cases pull the bones with it. so when you see some one like a chiropractor and they click ya back in place it can in some cases only be a matter of time before the joints or what ever to get *pulled* back out of place again.
Do i make sence to any body here?? Tell me if ya disagree??

I like to hear ppls oppinions if i am wrong.