Over the last 25 years, many young workers have been facing the problem of “Office Syndrome” in the form of aches at the neck or the base of the neck, which can be caused by inappropriate behaviors or overuse that led to the stiffening and aching of the muscles. If left to remain chronic for a long time for more than a week or until numbness occurs along with weakness of the hands and arms and shooting pain at the shoulders, the condition can progress to become spinal disc herniation!
Neck New Norm: Quickly change your behaviors to reduce symptoms of Office Syndrome.
- Adjust your posture and smart phone use.
A frequently encountered problem is stiffness of the muscles at the base of the neck after using the telephone for a long time or after using the telephone with the wrong posture. For example, it can happen after ducking your head down to use your telephone in a physiologically abnormal way or after using the telephone for so long that the upper back muscles become stiff, leading to neck pain.
In addition, you should avoid sitting in the same position for a long time. If you cannot avoid this, you should appropriately adjust your posture by having your computer monitor be level with your eyes in order to avoid having to look down.
- Change your sleep posture by using a pillow that promotes neck health.
In order to avoid falling off of your pillow while sleeping and reduce neck pain from sleeping in the wrong posture and to sleep more deeply, you should use a pillow that is neither too high nor too low while being level with the head. If there is significant neck pain, you should use a foam pillow or a health pillow for patients suffering from neck pain problems or who frequently fall off of their pillows while sleeping.
- Modify your exercise behaviors. Know your limits. Do not workout excessively.
Working out too excessively or too intensely can cause neck pain, especially weight training exercises or weight lifting. Additionally, warm-ups can help effectively reduce muscle injuries.
- Change your behavior if you like lifting heavy things.
Lifting heavy objects on your back and shoulders such as by carrying excessively heavy backpacks causes the weight to fall on to the shoulders, which is aa cause of neck pain and disc herniation in the long-term.
