Neck pain and headaches are one of the most common reasons people seek treatment from an Osteo, Physio or Myotherapist. Neck pain and headaches can disrupt our daily lives, but there are some simple ways to find relief.

In this blog, we'll discuss the causes and offer practical tips and stretches to ease discomfort.
Understanding the Causes

1. Poor Posture: One of the leading culprits for neck pain and headaches is poor posture. Slouching or sitting hunched over for extended periods puts excessive strain on the neck and upper back muscles.
2. Muscle Tension: Stress, anxiety, and everyday tension can cause muscles in the neck and shoulders to tighten, leading to discomfort and headaches.
3. Overuse of Screens: Many of us spend hours staring at screens, whether for work or leisure. This can lead to 'tech neck,' characterized by neck pain due to the strain of looking down at screens for extended periods.

Tips to Alleviate Discomfort

1. Maintain Proper Posture: Sit upright and use ergonomic setups. Head over to https://www.oceansideergonomics.com/blogs for tips on setting up your workplace
2. Take Regular Breaks: Move and stretch every hour. A brief 2-3 minute break every hour can minimise strain and tension on your lower back and neck.
3. Manage Stress: Practice relaxation techniques. This may include things such as yoga, meditation or simply going for a walk in the park with a friend.
4. Stay Hydrated: Dehydration can lead to headaches. Try to drink 2-3 litres a day.
5. Adjust Your Sleep Position: Use a supportive pillow that covers the distance between your shoulder and your ear (for side sleeping) to maintain a neutral head position.

Stretches for Relief

1. Neck Tilt Stretch: Tilt your head to each side for 15 seconds, 2-3 times per side. Repeat every couple hours throughout the work day
2. Neck Rotation Stretch: Turn your head to each side slowly, pausing for 5 seconds, repeat 2-3 times per side. Repeat every couple hours throughout the work day
3. Neck and Shoulder Stretch: Gently pull your head to the side with your hand, holding for 15 seconds, 2-3 times per side.
4. Shoulder Blade Squeeze: Squeeze your shoulder blades together 5-10 times every hour.

Conclusion
Relief from neck pain and headaches is within reach by maintaining good posture, reducing stress, and practicing these simple stretches. Consult your Osteo if issues persist or worsen. Your well-being is worth the effort to address these common discomforts.
To book an appointment, click the link: Book my Osteo Appointment

Putting the plan into plantar fasciitis
As the mornings become lighter in Geelong and the weather warms up, we all envisage setting our alarms that extra 60 minutes earlier to get out and hit the pavement before work. But after two or three weeks and a couple longer runs to dust off the cobwebs, our foot begins to ache and now the first few steps we take every morning send sharp excruciating pain into our heel. It becomes a challenge to even go to the toilet during the night or to get up off the couch of an evening after watching our favourite television program.
That’s the reality of someone who gets struck by plantar fasciitis – trust me, I’ve just recovered from it myself! Plantar fascia is such a common foot injury that we see in Geelong, we almost all either know someone who has had it, or have been unfortunate enough to endure it ourselves.
How does Plantar Fascia occur?
Plantar fascia pain is a repetitive strain injury and is commonly caused by a significant increase in running or walking. It doesn’t necessarily mean you have to run a half marathon to get it, it might just be that you have run more than usual on multiple occasions within a short period of time. Tissues require time to recover between runs and not allowing this process to occur can lead to overuse of those tissues and resultant injury. 


What can I do?
Plantar fascia can be easily avoided with a few simple tips.

1. Don’t try go from zero to hero – Building capacity into tendons and muscles takes time. Start with a distance or time that is comfortable for you and incrementally increase your running or walking over a period of weeks. E.g. You might usually walk 30 minutes on 5 days of the week. Trying to walk 60 minutes on 4 of those days is probably going to be overdoing it. Instead start by increasing walking to 35 minutes, or if you want to do a longer walk, perhaps do one 60-minute walk per week and keep the other walks to 30 minutes.
2. Warm up prior to exercise – This is one of the easiest things to forget, but it is the single most important factor that can prevent these injuries from occurring. Warmups should involve a mixture of foam rolling, self-massage, active stretching and movement preparation

3. Seek advice from your osteopath or physical therapist. Often people suffer with this pain for months before seeking help from a health professional. Early intervention not only helps to reduce pain and discomfort, it also allows for a strengthening plan to be put in place to help your foot recover quicker.
4. Buy yourself a 600ml water bottle! Filling a water bottle up and freezing it overnight makes for an excellent massage tool when it comes to plantar fascia. Roll the bottom of your foot up and down along the water bottle to ease the muscle tension whilst at the same time providing an analgesic effect on the area.
5. There is no quick fix – Plantar fasciitis often takes several weeks or months to completely heal, so be patient and listen to your body, follow the advice given by your health practitioner and try to remain diligent with your rehabilitation program. 

Protect your necks and backs!

With COVID-19 forcing majority of the workforce to conduct their work from a home office, it is unsurprising that 90% of my consultations this month have been for neck pain, headaches and lower back injuries as a result of patients having to set up laptops at their dining table to continue their work. And this is likely to partly become the norm in future.

Poor posture, change in devices (from desktop to laptop) and office design (or lack thereof) has contributed to a significant rise in the number of patients seeking treatment for neck & back pain and headaches. What's worse is there are likely many more sufferers out there trying to cope with these stressors whilst continuing work without seeking any treatment.

Headaches can originate from a variety of structures within the head and neck, so it is important to see your Osteopath, Physiotherapist or Myotherapist to find out the cause of your headache.
Long periods of time with the neck bent forwards (laptop use, texting on your phone) are notorious for putting increased stress and strain on muscles, ligaments and joints in the neck and upper back. To make things worse, the introduction of smart phones and gadgets such as Apple watches, iPads and tablets has made postures of prolonged neck bending even more common.

A couple of tips for those who are working from home on their laptops;
1 ) Invest in a good laptop riser, which you can purchase from stores like Officeworks. It will help to raise the height of your laptop so your neck isn't in a terrible position. Alternatively, place a couple textbooks under your laptop to raise the height of it
2) You will also need to invest in an external mouse and keyboard to go with the laptop riser. This will allow you to have your shoulders in a more comfortable position when using the laptop.
3) Try taking a break from your workdesk every hour or two to walk around the office, or switch your focus from the laptop screen. Some gentle neck and shoulder rolls can help keep the muscles active and moving, to reduce your chance of developing a headache.

For advice and set up of your laptop in your home office, click the link to see a demonstration by Osteopath Nick 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Y4MRv4uUw4&t=65s