Mechanical Neck Pain is also called Axial Neck Pain

Mechanical or axial neck pain is neck pain that does not radiate into the arms or upper extremities. The pain is located in the neck, base of the skull or occipital area and the back of the shoulders.

Many time, mechanical neck pain is associated with headaches that may radiate into the base of the skull, side of the head (temporal) or around the eyes (periorbital). These headaches are called cervicogenic or neck related headaches.

Mechanical neck pain may have different symptoms; it may be one side or both sides of the neck, cause headaches, stiffness and may lead to restricted motion in on or all directions in the range of neck motion.

Headaches

Headaches are a common problem in todays society and in the computer era. Headaches have increased in frequency and many adults in the United States have at least one bad headache every month. In a survey of more than 1 million individuals in the general population, headaches were the most frequent current physical complaint among men and women. In a report of lifetime headache histories, 41% of men and 50% of women experienced severe headaches that rendered them unable to work.

For most people, headaches get better with rest and over-the-counter medications, however, for others, headaches occur so frequently or are so severe that they interfere with the normal activities of daily life.

There are many types of headaches, but the three most common are migraine headaches, tension headaches and neck related headaches (cervicogenic).

Choosing the right neck pillow to help relieve neck pain

Almost one third of our life is spent sleeping. Sleep is an essential biological need. In addition to rest and relaxation, proper sleep is necessary in order to maintain good physical and mental health. In recent years, changes in lifestyle because of too many activities, sleep time is compressed to lesser and lesser amount. Neck pain can affect the time and quality of sleep. How to improve the quality of sleep by reducing the level of neck pain or discomfort and in such a limited duration of sleep is a very important issue which leads many people to seek a new pillow.

Many experts have suggested that poor neck posture and support during the night may be responsible for waking with neck pain and stiffness, headache and shoulder blade or arm pain. Headaches originating from the neck are called cervicogenic headaches. They are referred from the upper levels of the neck. Shoulder blade and arm pain can be referred from the lower levels of the neck. It is suggested that individuals who wake in the morning with symptoms that were not present the night before, or patients whose symptoms are worse in the morning than when they retired the preceding night, are probably either using an unsuitable pillow or adopting poor neck posture overnight.

Computer Headaches

Do you sit at a computer for extended periods? Do you get migraine headaches, tension headaches or neck pain? Can computers be the cause of your headaches?

Has it ever occurred to you that while you are happily typing away on your computer for hours on end you are actually creating a problem in your neck that can lead to chronic neck pain and headaches?

The types of activities that can lead to poor neck posture include sitting at a computer for extended periods of time, reading with the head bent forward, sitting while slouching in a chair or on a couch, sleeping with the head or neck in odd positions, or any other activity that places the head in a position forward to the body. So, to answer our original question, yes, headaches and neck pain can be caused by sitting at a computer.