Healthy Work Tip Tuesday - 3 Desk Work Tips for Neck Pain and Back Pain

  1. Keep your neck in a neutral alignment from left to right. Many of us tend to lean our heads to one side or the other. I’ve seen numerous patients who lean toward one side begin to have pinched nerve symptoms on that side, and that’s not a coincidence. Over time, it also tightens the muscles on one side of the neck while lengthening the opposite side. This creates further imbalances that can lead to pain and headaches.
  2. Make sure your computer monitor is directly in front of you. Multiple times I’ve had patients who eventually pinch nerves in their neck and develop arm pain because they are turning their heads slightly to one side for long periods to look at their screens.
  3. Stop crossing your legs. Chances are that when you cross your legs it’s always with the same pattern of right over left or left over right. Unbalanced habits like this stress the hip muscles asymmetrically. Make the hip muscles unhappy, and you will eventually make the back unhappy and vice versa.