What Can Be Done For Neck Pain While Studying

It’s that time of year again when children, teenagers, young adults and mature students are going through exams, but this exceptionally busy and stressful time of year can be made even more difficult if you suffer from neck pain. Whether it’s resting your head over your books, or sitting hunched over a computer at a desk in your local library or bedroom, these are all activities that if we’re not careful can leave us with back, shoulder or neck pain, or even headaches.

When you’re at your computer, or sat with your books, you’re often sat with your head leaned forward, shoulders hunched and chin tilted up. These three common characteristics can leave us with three separate issues that can frequently cause us avoidable pain.

Leaning your head forward is bad for neck pain

If you’re sat with your head leaning forward, a substantial amount of pressure is placed on your neck in order to support the extra weight. But doesn’t your neck always support the weight of your head? The answer is: not entirely. When our spine is in correct alignment and we have good posture, the force of gravity can be appropriately distributed throughout the spine. If we deviate from a good posture, that force cannot be evenly distributed and more pressure can be put on more compromised or weaker areas of the spine – leaving it to be potentially more prone to injury. We often don’t realise just how heavy our heads really are until we suffer from neck pain.

Hunched shoulders and a rounded back

Meanwhile sitting with your shoulders high and hunched over, can cause us to tense these muscles that are usually nice and relaxed. In particular, sitting for long periods of time in this position can leave us with shoulder pain that can extend into the neck. Hunching your shoulders up is done by your muscles, the same muscles that are working hard holding your head in the wrong position. It’s no wonder they become tired, painful and tender. Not very practical or comfortable in the long term, especially if you have to suffer through your examinations with shoulder pain.

Pivoting your chin up can compress the top of your neck

Our final problem, sitting with your neck tilting your chin up if you’re hunched, or your computer screen is too high, can compromise and put extra pressure on the nerves and blood vessels that run at the top of the cervical spine into the base of the skull. When we pinch these nerves and blood vessels, it can be quite common to experience tension headaches – the kind that typically hurt across the forehead, across the back of the head and towards the base of the skull. These headaches can be difficult to shift without a long period of rest, relaxation or painkillers – so prevention is always key! Try keeping your shoulders back and relaxed, and keep your head in an upright position above your shoulders – not leaning forward. Try to prop your computer screen or books up so that they’re at eye-level, or have them below eye-level and just use your eyes to look down rather than shifting your body forward.

What if your neck pain persists?

If your neck pain persists during your studying despite taking regular breaks, stretching from time to time, or correcting your posture – or perhaps every year during your studies you know that neck pain is going to be an issue for you – consider seeing your local chiropractor or osteopath who can help to resolve these problems during times that you know will be stressful or busy. Neck, back or shoulder pain that is persistent across a number of weeks, months or years could indicate that there may be a deeper issue going on that needs resolving in order for you to feel back to your normal self again. At The Mayfair Clinic we offer three different therapies that can offer you relief depending on the type of problem that you have. Your first visit consists of an examination, complete with x-ray imaging if we think you need it, a diagnosis and your first treatment, so you can get back to concentrating on the more important things in life.