Active Sitting
Whether you work outside climbing telephone poles or sit in front of a computer all day, neck and shoulder pain seems to be common in every profession. Different methods are used to help ease the pain and recover--rest, ice, heat, popping the neck vertebra, or popping some over-the-counter pain relievers. What should you do to help with neck pain?
Exercising those muscles with strength training, stretching, and cardio will do the trick, say researchers.
New study addresses neck pain
For years, doctors have recommended to patients with chronic neck pain to begin actively moving the muscles to "loosen" them. Researchers set out in 2003 to see if this advise was the best course of action.
Female workers with non-specific neck pain were divided into three groups of 60 to test three methods of treatment, and they followed for a year. One group did nothing and took the "time will heal" approach, one group performed light exercise and increased activity--lifting the head from tilted to up, and the other training group performed high-intensity isometric strengthening exercises.
The two training groups lifted weights with dumbbells to strengthen the upper body. They also added stretching and aerobic training three times a week.
Results
The "rest it" group did improve some during the 12 month study. The
two groups that used exercise improved significantly. Getting the muscles active
with light exercise helped, but the high-intensity training group that strengthened,
stretched, and performed cardio improved substantially more than the others.
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Lessons learned
Perhaps there's a lesson in this research for other painful muscle groups. Activity is a great place to start, and a necessary first step. However, the research is clear, high-intensity training offers the greatest results!
WorldFitness.com Phil Campbell, M.S., M.A., FACHE
