Neck pain is a common musculoskeletal disorder that
leads to significant disability in the general population. In
a 6-month period, 54% of adults suffer from neck pain, and
4.6% experience limitations of important activities because
of neck problems1)
. Borghouts et al. reported that 30% of
men and 43% of women were affected by neck pain at some
time in their lives, and that the symptoms became chronic
among 10% of men and 17% of women2)
. The prevalence of
this condition increases with age and is greater in women
than men1)
.
Musculoskeletal disorders of the neck are very common
among office workers. Various factors have been identified
as predisposing to neck pain, such as the duration of
computer use, sustained awkward posture, and prolonged
working with a visual display unit (VDU)3, 4)
. A prolonged
forward head posture is commonly adopted by this occupational
group, and it may be associated with musculoskeletal
disorders5)
. Biomechanically, sustained forward flexion of
the neck results in increased compressive loading on the
cervical spine and a creep response in the surrounding soft
tissues. Also the source of pain is excessive loading of the
cervical and shoulder girdle muscles, especially in low-load repetitive work which promotes over-activity of low threshold
motor units6)
. Other mechanisms, such as nociceptor
sensitization due to intra-muscular shear forces are also
considered to play a role7)