A growing body of research shows that while low back pain has roughly the same prevalence for men and women, neck pain is significantly more common in women that men (Linton, 2000). There are a number of theories as to why.
Why is neck pain more common in women?
One theory regarding this is that women are more open about reporting and expressing pain. This is generally recognised to be true but doesn’t account for the specific difference in regard to neck pain.
Another theory is to do with vocational differences between the genders. While things are changing there is still a higher prevalence of men doing manual labour work, and women doing office based work. This position undoubtedly places increased strain on the neck and shoulders which can lead to posture related neck and head aches.
Other theories include breast size and the postural “round shoulder” strain that can result; breast feeding postures; lifestyle differences and many more.
Common features of neck pain
Whatever the cause, the most common feature of neck pain in men and women is a poking chin, ewe neck or round shoulder posture. This is common in office based workers who work long hours, have poor body awareness, and do little or no exercise outside of work.
This posture is featured by
Tight neck extensors (upper traps especially)
Tight pectoral muscles
Weak scapular muscles
When this posture becomes a habit it is very difficult to change without ongoing exercise to help you sit and stand more upright. The
Positive Health workshops cover this extensively
Stress can also exacerbate this posture through increasing fatigue and promoting increased muscle tension. Poor self esteem is also linked to poor postural habits.
Trauma, such as whiplash is a common trigger point for neck pain, but ongoing pain often has little to do with the original incident, and more to do with the resultant poor posture and increased sensitivity.
Preventing neck pain through education
The recently launched e-learning program from the Peak performance Institute
"Progressive women" helps prevent and overcome neck pain issues by addressing it at both the physical and psychological levels.
Exercises to alleviate the strain and tension on neck muscles are covered in detail in the third section on Health and wellbeing. This includes easy to follow video instruction.
Increasing exercise levels can easily be focused for those with little extra time to spare. Incorporating exercise into your working day results in improved body awareness, something you carry within you always, requiring no extra time.
The important issues of self esteem and confidence are covered extensively throughout the program. These play a role not only in our performance and achievements overall, but have a profound influence on our health and wellbeing.
