If you spend your day at a desk or on a laptop, tight shoulders and a stiff neck can start to feel like part of the job. The advice from the NHS and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is practical, and most of it is free.
Break up the day
The HSE says to take short breaks often, rather than longer ones less often. Its example is that 5 to 10 minutes every hour is better than 20 minutes every 2 hours. A break should let you get up and move around, or at least stretch and change posture. Many jobs already include natural changes of activity, such as meetings and phone calls.
NHS advice for neck problems is similar: move your neck for short periods every hour, and avoid staying in one position for too long.
Keep moving, even if you are sore
If your neck is stiff or sore, the NHS advice is to carry on with your normal daily activities, even if you need to go at a slower pace, and to keep generally active, even if you move slowly at first. A supportive pillow in bed can help. Heat or ice on the neck can ease symptoms, with a cloth between the pack and your skin. A neck collar is not recommended unless a doctor prescribes one.
Check your workstation
The HSE notes that incorrect use of screens, or poorly designed workstations, can lead to pain in the neck, shoulders, back, arms, wrists and hands, as well as eye strain. If you use a screen for an hour or more at a stretch on most days, your employer has legal duties to assess your workstation and to make sure you can take breaks. It is worth asking for that assessment rather than putting up with the aches.
Where massage fits
Massage can feel very good on tired shoulders, and it is a reasonable thing to try. The research is more cautious than the feeling. A review of 15 trials found that massage reduced shoulder pain straight after treatment, with a smaller benefit later, and the latest Cochrane review of neck pain found the evidence mostly low certainty. Both are covered in Massage for neck, shoulder and back pain: what the evidence says.
Think of massage as one part of looking after yourself, alongside the breaks and movement above, rather than a replacement for them. A shorter, focused treatment on the neck, shoulders and upper back is what targeted relief is for.
When to see your GP
The NHS says that new or flare-up neck problems often begin to settle within 8 weeks without needing to see a healthcare professional. Contact your GP urgently if you notice:
- clumsiness in your hands, or numbness, pins and needles or weakness that is getting worse in one or both arms;
- problems with your balance or walking since your neck pain started.
See your GP too if your neck pain comes with a severe headache, and talk to a healthcare professional if your symptoms are still there after 8 weeks of self-care.
In short
- Short breaks every hour beat one long break.
- Keep moving, rather than resting a sore neck.
- If you use a screen for an hour or more at a time, ask for a workstation assessment.
- Massage is a pleasant extra, not a fix. See your GP if the pain is severe, getting worse, or comes with numbness, weakness or pins and needles.
Sources
- Health and Safety Executive. Working safely with display screen equipment: work routine and breaks.
- Health and Safety Executive. Working safely with display screen equipment.
- NHS inform. Neck problems.