Are you having neck pain? Neck tension is one of the top reasons we treat clients at Blue Water Bodywork. The term we like to use around the studio is “Tech Neck”. Most of us are sitting at a desk all day with our heads down and shoulders slumped forward staring at a monitor or a phone or some type of wireless device. This constant tilting forward of the head is called a chronic holding pattern. This particular holding pattern creates two problems. First, It causes the neck muscles in the anterior or front portion of the neck to become locked short. It’s kind of like the muscles are stuck in a shortened or contracted state. Next, the tight or short muscles in the front create elongated or overstretched muscles in the posterior or back of the neck. When ever a muscle or set up muscles in a contracted or shortened state, the antagonist or opposite muscle or set of muscles has no choice but to do the opposite. These overstretched muscles become rigid and weak and create tension on their attachments sights. The most common areas to feel pain are the base of the skull at the occipital ridge and the upper medial border of your scapula(shoulder blade). There are a few ways to try and correct this. As a preventative measure, spending less time looking down at your devices is a good start. Stretching would be another. Regular bodywork is also a great preventative measure to avoid future neck pain. Massage can be used as a way to correct imbalances that already exist. Getting work done on muscles like the sternocleidomastoid and scalene muscles can do wonders for your neck pain. If you are suffering from discomfort or tension in the neck area, please give us a call. Let us help. If you are spending a lot of time in a desk job type situation and are concerned this could become and issue for yo,u please give us a call. Either way we would love to help!