Pain in the Neck...and Back

I had horrible posture in high school and college. The years slouching over text books or slumping into a sofa took their toll on my neck and back. When I finished grad school my neck and upper back pain was almost unbearable at times. It's gotten much better since then, and I'd like to tell you how I did it.

Note: I have mostly upper back and neck problems. My lower back has never really been an issue. I'm not sure the following applies to lower back pain.

Over the year's I have searched high and low for a solution to my neck/back pains. I visited back doctors, physical therapists and massage therapists; bought a back book, a buckwheat pillow and a personal traction device; used posture aids, stretching routines and even put tape on my back to remind me to sit up straight. None of them offered much relief.

However, my life changed 4 years ago, when I got a real job. One of the best things that happened was that I started working at a computer, at a desk, instead of hunched over a textbook. However, that was just the begining. After reading a Wall Street Journal article that suggested that almost all back problems could be traced to bad posture, I changed the focus of my corrective efforts to my posture. It worked.

Here's what did:

1. 3 1/2 years ago Ashley and I bought new pillows. Apparently spine alignment is important even when you're sleeping. I got one of those memory foam pillows (It's actually half memory foam and half fluff). Surprisingly I it helped keep my neck in place at night and I slept a little better. I have since added a pillow between my knees and another between my elbows. Yes, I use three pillows when I sleep. Effectiveness rating: 3/5
2. 3 years ago I started sitting on an excercise ball at work. It helped me sit up straighter than all the fancy ergo-chairs my work had to offer. It wasn't perfect, but was perhaps the most significant thing I had done for my back to date. It took most of the stress off my upper back and neck, but I noticed it put more strain on my lower back. For two years I sat on that ball and my neck felt better than it had since my sophomore year in college. Effectiveness rating: 3/5
3. 2 1/2 years ago I switched up my workout routine at the gym to focus on my back. I had been working out (off and on) for 10 years and had never given any thought to strengthening my back. I started each workout with rowing type excercises and a cantelever back excercise (where your head and torso hang down and you have to straighten up using your back). I've since worked in lat pull-downs, abdominal excercises and dips because a back doctor once said those were all good for my back. When I'm doing these exercises regularly I feel as close to 100% as I think I can feel. Effectiveness rating: 5/5
4. 2 years ago I ditched the excercise ball I was using as a chair and swapped in a stool that pivots at the base. Functionally it acts much like the ball, which is to say it gives me support for my bum but nothing else, so my back, stomach and legs have to do the rest of the stabalization work. I think it works great. Unfortunately I've learned to slouch sitting on a stool too, but it has been far better for me than any chair. Effectiveness rating 4/5

My neck feels 10 times better now than it did when I graduated from college, but it still bugs me constantly. My next project is to try and fix my posture at home. Until I do this, I don't believe I will be rid of my pains. All my good posture habits stay at work when I come home. Got to do something about that.