NECK PAIN

Dear Hermina friends,
Almost all adults must have experienced neck pain, neck pain is one of the most common complaints in adults, and is a musculoskeletal disorder that is often found, especially in women of reproductive age. Research shows that neck pain occurs in 30-50% of all adults. This figure will increase with age, peaking in middle age. Work productivity is the main impact affected due to neck pain. Other studies show that 50% to 85% of total neck pain sufferers do not show complete recovery after symptoms are treated, some of whom will become chronic neck pain.

It should be noted that neck pain is a multifactorial disease, and is a major problem in modern society. The economic burden experienced by sufferers of neck pain is very disturbing including treatment costs, decreased productivity and work-related problems. Several studies have shown that neck pain has major risk factors such as old age, female gender, low social support, lack of physical activity, duration of daily computer use, and perceived stress. Identifying protective or risk factors, triggers, and outcomes can help guide the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and management of neck pain.

There are risk factors that are very important to pay attention to regarding neck pain in modern times, namely psychological factors. Overall, factors such as stress, severe pain that is ignored for a long time, depressive symptoms, poor sleep quality, and alcohol consumption may play a role in a person's process of identifying and perceiving pain. Therefore, it is very important for Friends of Hermina who experience neck pain to be able to check the symptoms of neck pain experienced by a neurologist/neurologist so that they can treat the symptoms completely.
There are several tips that can be done if you experience neck pain, namely:
• Neck compresses
Compresses really help to reduce the inflammatory process in the tissues around the neck, even if the symptoms disappear completely with just a compress. It is recommended to compress the neck with cold temperatures such as ice cubes wrapped in a towel for 2-3 days, followed by warm compresses to help reduce muscle stiffness.

• Stretching
Neck stretching can stretch the muscles in the neck which contribute even up to 50% of the causes of pain. It is best to stretch slowly by moving your neck up and down, right and left, and rotating your head, and don't force the movements you make

• Defining pillows while sleeping
Using the right pillow is very important because of the amount of time a person spends sleeping, so the position of the neck while sleeping must be right so as not to aggravate the pain. avoid using pillows that are too high or hard.
• Avoid stress on the neck
It is very important to keep the neck from being burdened so as not to add to existing pain, such as lifting heavy weights, looking down for too long, for example when looking at a smartphone, and using a sling bag with too heavy contents.

• Massage
As previously mentioned, neck pain is heavily influenced by neck muscle (musculoskeletal) factors. Light massage is proven to improve muscle stiffness and reduce pain, it is recommended that the massage be done by a professional and avoid intervening in the bones and joints of the neck.

• Drug
Drugs are proven to be able to improve and improve the quality of life of pain sufferers, of course the use of drugs must be carried out under the supervision of a doctor so as not to cause side effects which are feared to add new problems.

 

There is a myth that Hermina's friends and friends need to know about neck pain, namely complete rest and not moving the neck at all during recovery. The fact is that staying active will help patients with neck pain more than complete rest, on the other hand, bed rest that is too long is not recommended for sufferers of neck pain or low back pain. Research shows that limited active movement actually helps speed up neck pain recovery rather than prolonged rest.

So Hermina's friends, let's stay physically active to avoid neck pain. For Hermina's friends who experience neck pain, immediately consult with a neurologist at Hermina Hospital so that they can be diagnosed correctly and treated until they fully recover.