Strength training exercises can help women suffering from tenderness and tightness in the upper back & neck muscles. A Danish study has identified five dumbbell exercises aimed at reducing repetitive strain injury caused by office work.
The response from a Danish survey showed more than half of female office workers reported frequent neck pain and more than two-thirds of these suffered from tightness of the upper back & neck.
Forty-two female office workers participated in the 10-week study. All subjects had suffered chronic or frequent pain in the neck area and tightness and tenderness of the upper back muscles. Of these 42 women, a group of 18 did five exercises with dumbbells. They included one-arm row, shoulder side raise, shoulder shrug, reverse fly and upright row. These exercises isolate the back, shoulder and neck muscles. Three sets of ten repetitions of these exercises were performed three times per week, and weights were progressively increased throughout the 10 weeks.
This group of women experienced significant changes, including improved strength and an increased number of type II muscle fibres, the fibres important in the generation of power. Furthermore, the training helped reduce pain levels by more than 50 per cent.
The findings suggest that the strength training was able to reduce the pain and further enhance the body’s ability to rapidly activate the muscles. Activating the muscles depends upon rapid co-ordination of nerve signals and it was the nerve signaling that seemed to have improved. The researchers also said that the strength training may have encouraged the women to set aside the fear of pain and thus helped improve performance.
Source: Journal of Applied Physiology