3 tips to prevent neck pain Without knowing it, you may be encouraging neck pain by the way you perform everyday activities. How you carry yourself can invite neck pain or help keep it at bay. In general, try to keep your head balanced directly over your spine, so it is not leaning forward or cocked to one side. That's because your neck's principal job is to support your head, and your head weighs a lot—about 10 to 12 pounds. Here are some hints for achieving a healthy neck posture in common activities. Get your copy of Neck Pain: A troubleshooting guide to help you relieve your pain   If your neck aches, it’s no wonder. The structures of your neck must support a heavy weight: your head. The many causes of neck pain are described in this newly updated Special Health Report Neck Pain: A troubleshooting guide to help you relieve your pain. Even without a clearly diagnosed cause, today’s treatments can effectively relieve neck pain, and help you learn how to prevent its return. At the computer or desk When working at your computer or at a desk, keep your head balanced directly over your spine as much as possible. That means setting your chair height so both your feet can rest on the ground, and sitting with your buttocks far back in your chair, using a small pillow to support your lower back if needed. Properly adjusting the keyboard and monitor may be difficult or impossible with a laptop, notebook, or tablet computer. You can plug in a separate, full-size keyboard to help you achieve better positioning. If that's not an option, placing your laptop or notebook computer on a desk of standard height and propping it to about a 12% incline (a one-inch book or ring binder should do the trick) keeps your head and neck in a healthier position. The downside is that it does place slightly more stress on your wrists. No matter how perfect your office chair posture, it's important to get up and move around every half-hour, as prolonged sitting has been linked to worsening of neck pain and other health problems. If you tend to get lost in your work, program your computer to flash a reminder, or set an alarm on your smartphone. Stretching can help, too. Shrug your shoulders up and down or lean your head to each side while pulling the opposite shoulder down. Telephone use If you spend a lot of time on the phone, try to avoid leaning your head to one side. This is also important when you use a cellphone and aren't sitting at your desk while you speak. A headset, earbuds, or speakerphone are good options to help keep your head in a neutral position for hands-free talking. Headsets are available for both your desk phone and cellphone. Reading at home If you are sitting in a chair, try to maintain an upright posture. Hold the book so that you don't have to lean down or forward to see it. A pillow on your lap may help. If you must read in bed, sit up straight or use a specially designed wedge pillow. Or lie on your side with your neck straight and hold the book in front of you. For additional tips on preventing neck pain as well as ways to treat and cure it, read Neck Pain, a Special Health Report from Harvard Medical School. Image: Moyo Studio/Getty Images Share this story:

Treating a pinched nerve Normally, nerves branch off the spinal cord through spaces between the vertebrae. If one of these exit spaces shrinks, it can squeeze the nerve root (the radicular nerve) and cause symptoms in the area served by the nerve. A number of problems can cause a pinched nerve, including a herniated disc, spinal stenosis, or degenerative disc disease. Age-related degenerative changes in the spine account for 70% to 90% of all cases. The good news: there are multiple options for pinched nerve treatment. People with a pinched nerve can have a positive outlook for recovery. As a result, pinched nerve treatment almost always begins with conservative therapies. Your doctor will likely recommend an over-the-counter pain reliever. You will be advised to avoid activities that cause pain or discomfort and may be told to use a cervical collar for a brief period of time, as well as a cervical pillow while you sleep. Physical therapy, range-of-motion exercises, and strengthening exercises can help make your pinched nerve treatment successful. If your pain is severe, your doctor may prescribe a short course of an oral corticosteroid. Anticonvulsant medications may also be used, and epidural glucocorticoid injections are sometimes given for persistent pain.  Surgery is not usually considered for pinched nerve treatment unless the pain has not eased with six to eight weeks of conservative therapy, you experience increasing difficulty moving, or there is evidence of spinal cord compression.  For additional tips on preventing neck pain as well as ways to treat and cure it, read Neck Pain, a Special Health Report from Harvard Medical School. Image: fizkes/Getty Images Share this story:

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Neck Pain: A troubleshooting guide to help you relieve your pain Featured content: • Where bone, muscle, and nerve converge • Evaluating neck pain • Common causes of neck pain • Managing your pain • SPECIAL SECTION: Preventing further neck pain • Pain medication • Complementary and alternative treatments  Click here to read more »