1. Pain in the Neck
Fatigued, stiff and even sore neck muscle problems are often preventable. To avoid fatiguing neck muscles, examine how you use your neck in daily activities. Any achy feeling in the head accompanied by stiffness or pain in the back of the neck is from holding the neck in a forward or crooked position. This is common in students who are listening in lecture halls without shifting their movement purposefully. Driving for long distances, reading, writing and straining will also cause pain. Keep the head more straight up and down. Maintain plenty of light to prevent moving the head toward the object. Consider using a reading easel to keep the head in a natural position. Don't round the shoulders but keep a straight posture to support the neck. When driving, relax the neck as much as possible, even lay it against the head rest. Take breaks and keep the posture straight as much as possible. Don't rest the hands on top of the steering wheel because it encourages rounding the shoulders.
2. Stick Your Neck Out at Work
Let's correct that. Don't stick your neck out at work. Avoid neck muscle fatigue at work by examining your surroundings and movements. Repetitive motion, straining and sitting in front of the computer make it difficult to protect neck muscles from fatigue. Check your chair. Make sure your feet sit flat on the floor with the arm rests supporting your forearms at a 90-degree angle. Keep the telephone, keyboard, computer mouse and other items in close reach so you do not have to reach continually. Keep the lighting at a good level so you do not have to strain to see. Make sure the keyboard does not sit so high that you scrunch up when you are typing. Place the monitor close enough that you can brush it with your fingertips when your arms are almost straight. The monitor should be straight in front of you at eye level so you do not have to look to one side or the other. Use a headset or phone attachment to keep from supporting the handset between your shoulder and your neck. When people come to talk to you at your desk, avoid looking up at them. Stand up or get a chair so you can look at them at eye level.
3. Pull Your Own Weight
When weight training, support your neck muscles with proper form. Keep your head straight up and down through every lift. Don't look from side to side, down at the floor or up at the ceiling. Keep the stomach muscles taut, the back straight and the shoulder muscles back. Concentrate on supporting the weight with your muscles in a slow, fluid motion without jerking or momentum. If you feel any strain in the neck stop the activity and practice the lift with lighter weight until you are using proper form.
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