Let’s talk about one of the most common causes of neck and shoulder pain – sitting!

Not just sitting, but the way we sit.

Have you ever gotten out of the car after a long car journey with a stiff and slightly painful neck? Often it’s just an annoying ache that eases off shortly after you’ve got out of the car and moved around a little, but if you have to do a lot of driving or sit in a meeting at work for an extended period, it can become a lot more painful.

It’s something that we don’t usually think about, but one of the most important things to consider is the effect that sitting can have upon our neck and shoulders.

Let me explain

If we go way back to our hunter/gatherer days how often do you think we sat down? 20-30 mins at a time? 

Now fast forward to today’s society and think of how often we sit.

A typical day will look something like this: We wake up and sit down to have breakfast. We then sit down for 30 mins to drive to work. We then sit down at our desk for most of the day. Hold on a second, what about lunchtime? Well…we sit down for that too. We then sit for an hour to drive home in busy traffic. We then get home and sit down for dinner. Then to relax and unwind we sit down to watch some television. Then we go to bed and rinse and repeat for the following day. Now multiply that by 40+ years when you include school. That is a lot of sitting.

Okay we sit down alot..what’s the issue?

Though sitting for extended periods is not very good for us, as mentioned above, it’s more how we sit.

When most people sit, they slump like the below photo:

This causes excessive stress on the joints, muscles and nerves at the back of the neck. 

Just look at that 90 degree angle between the neck and back.

So, the solution to not getting neck and shoulder pain from sitting down: Really simple, a rolled up towel or a small cushion as the base of your back. 

As the below photo demonstrates, by placing a small cushion (lumbar support) it helps the whole spine into a more neutral position. This position will take a lot of tension away from the neck and shoulders and allow you to finally ease that pain to get a good night’s sleep. 

Why don’t you give it a try? And let me know how you get on!

If you need more tips to ease neck and shoulder pain, you can download my free report here instantly: https://www.brownsphysio.co.uk/neck-pain/… which shows you how to ease pain naturally, without needing painkillers.