Three Quick Tips to Reduce Neck Pain While Browsing The Web

By: Dr. Arnan Sisson

March 22, 2024

Over the years seeing so many folks with neck and back problems I get to see trends. Things that work VERY well, and other sort of treatments that fall a little flat for most folks.

Out of all the treatments the ones that work the best to calm stiffness and pain in the body are ones that take stress off the supportive joints and muscles of the body. The added bonus to this would be the benefit of not having the ache or pain coming back every week, because what lead up to the problem has been dealt with.

Along with effective treatments, over the last 4 years since the clinic has been open, we've found goals that are more common with my clients in the Northern Neck.

These goals would be things like getting back to long walks with spouses, avoiding taking all the ibuprofen that’s damaging the stomach, get back 8 hours sleep, and last but not least surfing the web without neck pain!

Looking through the blog you'll find that we touch on walking, sleep, and getting rid of pain medication a good bit. But today we're going to switch gears and talk about ways to remove stress while you’re on the computer.

If your more of a visual person, feel free to check out the video above where I run you through each of the steps but here are all 3 in order.

1. Make sure the computer is close. If it’s far away from the body the neck has a tendence to protrude and this jams the joints of the neck. Along with this the muscles supporting the neck will shorten and stiffen up. Paired with these issues your trap muscles above both shoulders will be chronically stretched, and this can lead to muscle strains.

2. Make sure your chair height is correct. What this means is you want the height to be tall enough to where your head is looking straight forward and not down or up. What I've learned over the years is that if you have any body part that’s away from a neutral position for too long you'll start developing stiffness or pain.

3. Change position every 30 minutes. I'll keep giving this advice until I’m blue in the face, because while it seems very simple; Long term doing this can help prevent aches and pains from head to toe. This is because even if you’re in the worst possible position while you’re surfing the web. If you get out of it frequently, you'll have a lower risk of having neck pain.

The adjustments if done consistently can definitely help anyone reduce the Advil, feel looser in the shoulders/neck throughout the whole day, and most importantly enjoy ourselves while we're on Facebook or Google!

P.S. If you’re dealing with neck pain that’s getting in the way of you using your computer, smart phone, or just enjoying life with family or friends; Feel free to give me a ring at (804) 493-3256 to set up a free 15 minute Phone Consultation. During the call we can work together to figure out what’s likely behind your neck troubles and come up with 2-3 of the top treatment strategies to fix it for good.