Neck Pain due to working from home
A lady in her mid 40’s who was getting neck pain since working from home on her laptop was helped by Jordan our Sports Therapist
Recently at Physio-logical we treated a lady in her mid 40s who had been suffering with neck and shoulder pain for approximately 8 months. Her symptoms built over time getting worse and worse until she was starting to suffer at work and in her day to day activities.
How was it affecting Mrs. C’s life?
“ I didn’t see a way out… I was beginning to think I was going to be in pain forever.” Mrs. C
Mrs C felt that the pain started to affect her when working due to sitting in front of a laptop for extended periods of time at her kitchen counter.
On assessment
When assessing Mrs C’s symptoms, she was experiencing a dull ache across the top of her shoulders and sharp pain into the top of her neck causing headaches spanning over the top of her head.
Testing Mrs C’s neck range of motion started to highlight some of her symptoms, when turning her head to the left and right the dull ache across the opposite shoulder would increase feeling as if it was tight and pulling. This feel was also felt when taking her chin to her chest, this movement also stimulated the sharp pain to start in the neck.
Neck Posture
Looking at Mrs C’s posture, we found that she had a forward head posture and was quite round shouldered (see images). When we have a forward head posture it can increase pressure on individual vertebra of the neck, overloading individual structures and in turn causing pain. While being round shouldered will start to lengthen muscles causing weakness and lack of function.
How did we help with Mrs. C’s neck pain
To influence Mrs C’s posture as quickly as possible we needed to change the way she was working because sitting in front of a poorly positioned screen was where she was spending a large proportion of her day.
Workstation set up when working from home
Firstly we changed her desk step to resemble something similar to what you see below (HSE).
- Computer Screen (Sitting): raised so that the middle of the screen is at eye level.
- Keyboard and Mouse: If possible use an external keyboard and mouse which is lower then the screen height. Ideally so that your shoulders are nice and relaxed with your elbows bent to around 90 degrees.
- Computer Screen (Standing) : raised so that the middle of the screen is at eye level.
- Lower Back: Sitting in a slight recline with your hips and knees bent to around 90 degrees.
- Head Position (Standing): stand nice and tall so your neck is not forwards towards the screen.
Exercises
We performed this alongside these two exercises :
Low Row – Watch video here.
Chin Tucks – Hold for 5 seconds, repeat 10 times, 3 times a day.
If you are struggling with neck pain and are working from home then we can help you with our Sports Therapy and Physio online service. We can connect with you and offer a full assessment, diagnosis and treatment all from the comfort of your own home via Video or over the phone.
For more infomation about our video consultation service then please see our blog about how we can help you.
To book please call 07835 712306, email enquiries@physio-logical.net or book online