2 Easy Life Hacks to Stop Neck Pain & Eye Strain from Ruining Weekends

Within a moment of sitting at your desk, the computer takes you to a world of mind-numbing work. If you are anything like me, 2 hours pass until you look away from the computer, and by that time your shoulders and neck have stiffened to the point of no return.

Not only that, but your eyes will be tired and there’s no way that brain can do anything else! How are you meant to spend the weekend happily cheering at the kid's netball and footy game when your neck is hating you for it after a week at work?

Being stuck in one position for two hours isn’t healthy for your body, eyes, neck or even your brain. This is because you are made to move. Static (not moving) postures and positions make your muscles fatigued and contribute to damaging your neck and back joints. Not only could you wake up the next morning with a crick in your neck, but these static postures & monitor staring could damage your vision in the long term.

How can you get that stack of work done, (without trying to type as you are running) and manage to keep your body in top shape at the same time? Is it even possible? Well, read on because it is!...

Trick #1… Get moving! Drink massive amounts of water so you must move to go to the toilet regularly. The more you drink, the more you will need to get up and move. (Good one hey?!) Plus, water is good for your skin, energy, and all-round health! If that’s too simple for you, be the one who volunteers to do the photocopying, or take the mail to the post office… just make sure you get moving every 25-30 minutes. Set a timer on your desktop, phone or Fitbit to remind you to move. There’s probably an app to remind you too!

Trick #2… Staring at a monitor for hours on end will cause eye strain and can fatigue your eye muscles. This alone can be a cause of recurring headaches and neck pain. You eye muscles work closely with your upper neck muscles (the occipitals), and when one muscle group isn’t working well, the other group are also affected.

The trick to take the pressure off your eyes is to remember the 20 – 5 – 20 rule. Every 20 minutes look up from your monitor - focusing on something approximately 5 metres away - for around 20 seconds. Find something that you can look at in detail. A poster. Someone’s face. The leaves of a tree. This will not only help to relieve eye strain but take the pressure off your neck too.

If your neck is still giving you grief after giving these 2 tricks a red-hot go, things may be a bit worse off than you think. Your neck may be out of alignment. Over the years, we have helped give happiness back to many people’s necks at House of Chiropractic. Feel free to call us to book in on 6009 0999.