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Is Life a Pain in Your Neck?

Perhaps one of the most common health complaints in our hectic lives today is chronic neck pain. Neck pain can disrupt our lives, limit our ability to enjoy our favorite activities and can even make a normal workday unbearably agonizing.

Several factors can contribute to neck pain. Symptoms may be the result of bad posture at a computer in the workplace, or a neck trauma. Fortunately, a regimen of posture improvement exercises and other proactive, natural techniques have proven amazingly effective in relieving and preventing chronic neck pain.

Back and Posture Problems in Using Computers

In a majority of cases, the culprit responsible for that grinding pain in your neck is actually today?s high-tech workplace. That?s right, your computer workstation. Long hours spent slouched in front of a computer is driving a new generation of workers to seek chiropractic help. Bad posture at a computer is responsible for a myriad of health issues, including neck pain, migraines, upper back pain and fatigue.

Use Computer Ergonomics to Eliminate Neck Pain

Take a critical look at your working environment. Is it ergonomically friendly? Using a computer can be a pain in the neck ? literally. Positioning or using your computer improperly can negatively affect your posture, resulting in neck pain, headaches and energy-zapping fatigue. For example, if your computer monitor is at less than a 90 degree angle with your eyes, you tend to tilt your head forward to look at the monitor. Neck pain is a direct result of this type of head-forward posture. To prevent head-forward posture, adjust either your chair or monitor until the top of your monitor is just about eye level.

Another important factor at your workstation is your chair. An ergonomically designed chair will help you achieve a comfortable working posture in which your joints are properly aligned. This neutral body positioning effectively reduces stress and strain on your muscles, tendons and the rest of your neuro-musculoskeletal system. Additionally, an adjustable chair with a good lumbar support helps to take additional stress off those sore back muscles.

Creative Stress Reduction Ideas

It seems that while we are all dealing with our increasingly hectic lifestyles, our leisure time is quickly becoming a fondly remembered thing of the past. Between the daily stress of career, family and an overwhelming amount of other responsibilities, we seldom find time to simply, relax. How you choose to deal with your daily stress is a key factor in reducing tension-related neck pain.

Many times, simple adjustments in your behavior and attitude are surprisingly effective in handling stress in a healthier manner. For example, try taking control of the tension level in your life with creative stress reduction ideas such as:

? Set aside 30 to 35 minutes of each day for some moderate exercise. Your body was not meant to sit in front of a computer, motionless all day. Your body craves movement and exercise is a great way to get your blood pumping, as well as a way to work off the tension of the day.

? Be sure to allow your body at least seven to eight hours of sleep every night. This is the time when your body recharges and repairs itself. Inadequate rest sets you up as a prime candidate for illness, impaired thought and exhaustion.

? Eat right! French fries are not vegetables, and ketchup is not a fruit. Take time to eat at least three nutritionally balanced meals every day, and don?t forget to include several servings of fresh fruits and veggies. Your body requires fuel to function at optimum efficiency, and candy from the vending machine just doesn?t cut it.

? Give yourself time to relax. All work and no play not only makes Jack a dull boy, but it also probably makes him incredibly stressed out. Give your mind and your body time to unwind and enjoy activities that have absolutely nothing to do with work. You will find that the more you do this, the more your workplace attitude and productivity will improve.

Life is too short to allow stress and poor health habits to overshadow and control it. Resolve to make the changes that will enhance your health and well-being. Beauty and joy are all around us, every day ? take time to go out and discover them.