Zac Fowler is a physiotherapist from Flow Physio Co Sutherland who talks to us about how to treat neck pain in office workers
Neck pain is one of the most common medical conditions that presents at Flow, with most presentations of neck pain coming from populations of office workers. It is not uncommon for these office workers to present very similarly, a forward head position, pain around the trapezius muscles and upper neck that gets worse when sitting and a slouched thoracic spine position when sitting.
It is estimated that between 42%-63% of office workers will experience some form of neck pain within any given year.
Office workers often get neck pain
It is estimated that between 42%-63% of office workers will experience some form of neck pain within any given year. Office workers also have the highest incidence rate of neck pain at around 17%-21% when compared to other occupations.
Interventions for neck pain usually focus around some form of ergonomic adjustment of the workplace setting, soft tissue relief and some postural exercises.
What is effective in treating neck pain in office workers
A recent study looked at the effect of intervention and prevention programs on neck pain in office workers when compared to no interventions over the course of 27 randomised controlled trials. These trials looked at the effect of strengthening programs, ergonomic adjustments and frequent rest breaks.
A key finding of the review was that shoulder and neck strengthening exercises can be effective in reducing pain intensity in the population of office workers with neck pain.
In terms of neck pain prevention, the same review found evidence that a regular strength routine can help to reduce the incidence of pain in an identified “at risk” population of office workers.
The reviews went on to discuss the positive impact on multiple ergonomic adjustments in the symptomatic population but could not find a link to this assisting in the prevention of pain.
The review then goes on to report that of the population that saw improvement in their neck pain, interventions focused on specifically strengthening the neck were superior to general fitness training.
Take Home Messages
Due to the high incident rate of neck pain in office workers, we believe that all office workers should complete a weekly strengthening prevention program and that office workers who experience neck pain should benefit from a strengthening program targeted to the muscles of the shoulders and upper back.
Source:
Xiaoqi Chen, Brooke K Coombes, Gisela Sjøgaard, Deokhoon Jun, Shaun O’Leary, Venerina Johnston, Workplace-Based Interventions for Neck Pain in Office Workers: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, Physical Therapy, Volume 98, Issue 1, January 2018, Pages 40–62