In my chiropractic practice I have recently seen an increase of patients experiencing neck and shoulder blade pain. Perhaps this is because in the United States, we are about 9 months into the Covid-19 pandemic, and many lifestyle changes have occurred that are linked to having pain of the neck and shoulder blades. This article will discuss causes of neck and shoulder pain and how chiropractic care can offer a safe, gentle approach to pain relief.
In the past six months many people are working, studying and taking their schooling while at home. Unfortunately, their home workstations may not provide proper ergonomics to provide optimum posture so as to avoid discomfort. Before the coronavirus, a great percentage of the population were working in their offices or going to a brick-and-mortar school. Their chairs, desks and computer setups were ideal in helping them maintain good posture and avoid shoulder blade and neck pain.
However, working at home might find one sitting on the floor, slouched on the couch, or hunched over a coffee table with their laptop. Obviously, hours spent with poor posture in one of these settings is bound to lead to problems.
Also, in an office or school setting built-in breaks such as lunch time, quitting time and coffee breaks gave many a necessary and welcome opportunity to get away from their desks for a while. However, remote working at home leads some to “power on” with their computers while never taking a break to get up and walk around.
When patients come to my office experiencing neck and shoulder blade pain their history of “remoting” from home tells me they may have caused misalignment or improper movement of the spinal bones of the neck or upper back resulting in their pain. Evaluating these areas by looking at the patient’s posture, checking the range of motion of what should be normal neck movements and gently feeling the muscles of the upper spine and back can reveal malpositions of the spinal vertebrae. X-rays of the vertebral bones of the neck and upper back are also helpful in determining if the patient is a candidate for chiropractic therapy.
Once it is determined that the patient has improper movement and/or misalignments of the upper spinal vertebrae chiropractic treatment is very safe, gentle and effective in providing relief of neck and shoulder blade pain.
“While there is no place like home” might be a popular sentiment in some cases, working remotely can be a real “pain in the neck.” If this is, literally the case, calling for an appointment with a doctor of chiropractic might be the perfect answer for relief of the shoulder blade and neck pain. Remember, for 125 years chiropractors “have had your back.”