Is exercise beneficial for Neck & Shoulder pain?

The first reaction when we are in pain is often to take a painkiller.  I know from experience in clinic, when that the painkiller stops working that is when our clients book a massage.  But would exerise help?  To me it is counter-intuitive to exercise when in pain so I was interested in a recent study that looked into this.

A study of 176 people investigated if the standard Fustra20Neck&Back exercise programme (scroll to bottom for full details) for reducing pain and increasing fitenss of office workers with neck or lower back pain works.  All the participants sat for at least 6 hours a day at a desk and had experienced at least 2 episodes of moderate pain in the last month before the study started.  The study participants included both men and women between 30 – 50 years old.  Half were asigned to the exericse group and half to the control group.  The exercise group carried out the Fustra20Neck&Back exercise programme for 1 hour twice a week for 10 weeks.

More than 90% of the particpants in the exercise group found that the intensity of the pain and fequency of the pain decreased significantly.  Improvements in neck & shoulder flexibility and quality of life were also recorded.  However there was no significant differences in lower back pain.

Reference

Suni JH, Rinne M, Tokola K, et al
Effectiveness of a standardised exercise programme for recurrent neck and low back pain: a multicentre, randomised, two-arm, parallel group trial across 34 fitness clubs in Finland
BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine 2017;3:e000233. doi: 10.1136/bmjsem-2017-000233

Fustra20Neck&Back exercise programme

The programme comprised a 10 minute aerobic warm-up on a cross-trainer.  Then 10 functional flexibility exercises, four strength exercises, five core exercises and a 10 minute cool down.

Click below to see the 10 functional exercises for your shoulders.

 

 

 

Click below to see the strenght and core exercises.

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