Jennifer Lui, Pharmacist at Sunbright Pharmacy in Semenyih sheds the light on this 21st century health issue that’s robbing people of their quality of life.
Neck and shoulder pain are so common today that it has almost become a part of our lives. From a pulled muscle during your sleep to a shoulder injury from a fall, there are many causes to neck and shoulder pain.
Even though it is so common, it still plays a huge role directly and indirectly by affecting the way we go about our daily lives. However, this can all change with better understanding and management of neck and shoulder pain.
1Twenty80: How common is neck and shoulder pain?
Jennifer Lui: Neck and shoulder pain is a common problem, affecting many adults at some time in their lives. Neck and shoulder pain can involve just the neck and shoulders, or it may radiate down an arm. The pain can be dull or feel like an electric shock into your arm. Other signs and symptoms, such as numbness or muscle weakness in an arm, can help pinpoint the cause of your neck pain.
1Twenty80: What are the common causes?
Jennifer: Our neck and shoulders contain muscles, bones, nerves, arteries, veins, ligaments and other supporting structures. Many conditions can cause pain in the neck and shoulder area. Studies suggest that both physical and psychosocial (a combination of psychological and social) factors may contribute to the problem.
Physical factors include prolonged sitting, working in the same position for a long time, prolonged holding of a bent forward head position, forceful and repetitive tasks, working with the hands overhead, working with vibrating tools, and prolonged use of computers.
People may also experience neck and shoulder pain due to psychological or psychosocial factors, such as mental stress. High-strain jobs, or jobs that have high demands but low control (meaning little authority), have been shown to be associated with neck and shoulder pain in some people. Interestingly, a similar association with neck and shoulder pain has been found in workers with jobs that feature high demands and high control.
The most common cause of physical shoulder pain and neck pain is injury to the soft tissues, including the muscles, tendons, and ligaments within these structures. Some are life-threatening (such as heart attack and major trauma), and others are not so dangerous (such as simple strains or contusions).
A positive attitude will let you see solutions to your problems in a better light.
1Twenty80: How can neck and shoulder pain be prevented?
Jennifer: Preventing neck and shoulder aches depend on the cause of the problem. However, here are some common tips that can be used to release some of the tension felt such as:
- Pillow – Have a good pillow to support your neck when you sleep.
- Consult – See a specialist doctor to see if you have scoliosis.
- Diet – Eat more foods that contain more magnesium. Magnesium helps relax tensed muscles. Avoid tea and MSG as it could hamper the absorption of the magnesium. The sweetener aspartame, has excitotoxins, which is also known to increase pain perception.
- Address stress – Stress creates a situation called ‘tetany’. Tetany means tight muscles and the neck and shoulders are very commonly affected. Try a stress-easing remedy, perhaps one containing Valerian to help both the stress and the tension.
- Keep warm – Wear a scarf, have warm showers, use heat pads and hot water bottles regularly, as this encourages the muscles to relax and pain to lessen.
1Twenty80: How can it affect one’s quality of life?
Jennifer: It can affect their everyday activities, career, financial resources, or their relationships with family and friends and even their psychological health.
There is much you can do to change, overcome and cope with the problems it presents. Your doctor and other members of your healthcare team can recommend medications, special exercises, techniques and devices and other self-care activities. Keeping a positive attitude is also important. A positive attitude will let you see solutions to your problems in a better light.
1Twenty80: How is neck and shoulder pain treated?
Jennifer: Although the causes of neck pain might differ from the causes of shoulder pain, treatment for both conditions might include the use of anti-inflammatory medications, the application of moist heat or ices, and/or movement exercises.
- Rest: Use the injured area as little as possible for the first two to three days, then slowly begin to exercise the injured area. This speeds recovery.
- Ice: Place the ice in a plastic bag, wrap the bag with a towel and then apply to the injured area for 15 to 20 minutes every hour. Directly applying ice can damage the skin.
- Elevation: Elevation of the injured area above your heart helps the swelling go down. This reduces your pain. Use pillows to prop yourself up.
- Pain control: Medicine used in the treatment of mild neck and shoulder pain includes non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). These are generally effective, but may cause side-effects in patients with a past medical history of indigestion or asthma and can be unsuitable for certain patients with kidney impairment, heart failure and high blood pressure.Stronger painkillers, such as codeine phosphate, may be used if NSAIDs are not working well or are unsuitable. Sometimes a muscle relaxant may be prescribed on a short term basis of up to one to two weeks depending on progress. Apply some NSAID cream or ointment for quick, localised pain relief and stiffness.
- Heat: Do not apply heat during the first week after an injury because it can increase the swelling to the injured area and worsen your pain. Also depending on the source of pain, drugs like muscle relaxants and/or even antidepressants might be helpful. Local corticosteroid injections are often helpful for arthritis of the shoulder. For both neck and shoulder pain, movement exercises may help. For cases in which nerve roots or the spinal cord are involved, surgical procedures may be necessary. Your doctor can tell you which is the best course of treatment for you. Acute pain at the base of the skull may well disappear without treatment. For short-term problems, manual treatment (chiropractic or physiotherapy) and pain-relieving medicine are recommended.
With longer-term pain (three months or more) consider one of the following treatments:
- Chiropractic treatment.
- Intensive muscle training.
- Physiotherapy, including advice on posture and the use of a supportive pillow.
- Acupuncture provides relief for significant numbers of people with chronic neck and shoulder pain.
1Twenty80: Is there a specific age group that’s at a higher risk of neck and shoulder pain?
Jennifer: I think there is no specific group. Anyone is susceptible to neck or shoulder at point in their life. However, as mentioned previously, movements that are repetitive involving the area mentioned would probably have a higher incidence of having neck or shoulder pain. The increased usage of computers among office workers also increase the risk of neck and shoulder pain. This is due to poor sitting position and long sitting hours while using computers.
1Twenty80: How does the 21st century lifestyle play a role in this situation?
Jennifer: The usage of mobile phones in particular among teens. This leads to something called forward posture abnormality. This posture causes the muscles of the upper back to continuously overwork as it tries to counterbalance the pull of gravity from the head. This position is often accompanied by forward shoulders and a rounded upper back, which not only feeds into the neck problem but can also cause shoulder pain.
