One of the greatest mysteries of being 50+, is the sudden onset of neck pain and stiffness. It often creeps up on people with zero warning and usually offers NO explanation as to why you might all of a sudden wake up with neck pain that can torment the life out of you and make your enjoyment of life, very difficult.
Clients of mine suffering with neck or shoulder pain are often the most “confused” and will often find it difficult to remember anything that they’ve done, which has brought it on.
But asking a few simple questions usually gets to the root cause of the issue.
And what I nearly always find is that neck and shoulder pain happens due to an accumulation of things:
Sleeping with two pillows (instead of one), reading in bed, right before bed, spending all day looking at a desk or computer screen, cleaning the house, ironing, pre-paring family meals and even reading the newspaper first thing on a morning are all on the face of it, simple activities and unlikely to cause any major problems.
Or so you might think.
Done on their own, and done once, any of these activities which I’ve just described are not going to cause a problem like neck and shoulder pain or stiffness. Do them all multiple times per day, every day, for 50 years, and they are a problem.
Let’s look at reading before bed.
Who doesn’t love to read before they go to bed? It’s likely to be a habit that you’ve had since your Mother or Father started to read to you before bed when you were a child. And something no doubt you’ve done for your own children and will continue to do for any grandchildren you may or may not have. But think about the position that your head is in when you’re reading. It’s likely to be looking DOWN.
Now, what most people don’t know about their head is that it’s designed to be in a position where your “ears are level” with your shoulders. So, as soon as you begin to look down, as in when you’re reading a book, those ears are now not in line any more. Again, that’s okay if you only do it once. But if you’re doing it all the time, it is going to cause you a problem and your head will, after a few years, end up in a position that sees it putt of “sync”. Then if that habit continues when you’re driving, watching TV, sat at a desk at work or in the kitchen and looking down to the ironing or make tea, it’s easy to see why your ears may not now be level with your shoulders.
But there’s another problem with reading before bed and this is why lots of people end up with tight shoulder muscles and a neck that is very stiff and even suffer from tension type headaches throughout the night and first thing on a morning. When you are reading that book, your are are having to hold it. And that means you’re adding tension to muscles and holing the book in place is going to put your neck into a locked and rigid position. Again, it’s not too bad at first, but doing it night after night isn’t helpful. My tip: if you do enjoy reading before bed, try not to do it any longer than for 20 minutes.
And here’s one more thing about neck and shoulder pain and bed times.. The number of pillows that you sleep with can also affect the position of your head. Think about it for a minute. If your sleep with two “thick” pillows it is going to push your head forwards meaning those ears are not inline with your shoulders.
Not a problem at first, 10 years later and after spending 8 hours per night sleeping like that, it’s guaranteed to leave you with a less than healthy posture. My tip: one thin pillow trumps two thick ones every time. And YES… it will feel awkward at first. But after about two weeks you’re body will get used it’s new sleeping position and it will see a remarkable improvement to the tension you’ll likely feel in your neck and shoulders.
And I know that these are “tiny little” changes that I’m offering up to you. But believe me, in the same way that lots of tiny little things add up to cause problems in your 50’s and 60’s, it’s lots of time little improvements or alterations that will also collide and see you feeling less stiff, less tense and living with more energy and freedom than anyone else you know.
More tips for neck and shoulder pain are here: www.paulgoughphysio.com/neck-shoulder-pain
You might know Paul as an expert Columnist who writes weekly health articles for TWO of the North East's biggest daily Newspapers, The Northern Echo And The Hartlepool Mail, he is a regular Speaker at Industry Seminars around the globe and a Radio Personality, often heard on the BBC. Paul has been an expert guest on dozens of Radio shows and regularly interviewed in newspapers, magazines and trade journals all over the world, including the Guardian.
Paul’s background included working extensively in the Premier League with a Top Professional Football Team, and since quitting his job in Professional Football in 2007, his Physio Practice has become the fastest growing in the UK and biggest in the North East. So successful, that companies like BUPA, ASDA, The Vela Group And Coast & Country, repeatedly retain his Physio company's services to keep healthy their own staff and workforce. Paul Gough Physio Rooms is now a large multi-physio, multi clinic speciality practice in Darlington, Durham, Guisborough and Hartlepool.
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