Last Updated: 2003-05-20 16:55:24 -0400 (Reuters Health)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women with chronic neck pain may find relief by doing neck-muscle exercises as little as two times a week, Finnish researchers reported Tuesday
Seven percent of women and five percent of men in Finland have reported chronic neck pain, according to the report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Such patients use up to twice as many health care services as the general population, on average.
In the new study, Dr. Jari Ylinen of the Jyvaskyla Central Hospital looked at 180 female office workers who reported constant or frequent neck pain.
The women underwent either endurance training or strength training, or were placed in a control group.
The endurance-training group performed neck exercises such as lifting the head while lying on the back or stomach. The strength-training group performed high-intensity neck strengthening exercises using an elastic band. Both groups also used weights to strengthen the muscles of the shoulder, back and arms.
Those in the control group did not receive any specific weight-training regimen and were only encouraged to do aerobic activity for 20 minutes three times per week. Those in the endurance and strength-training groups were also encouraged to do aerobic exercise.
After 12 months all of the women were re-evaluated.
"Our study showed that participation in 1-year endurance and strength training programs led to a considerable reduction in average neck pain and disability compared to the control group," the authors write.
"Neck function, including neck strength and range of motion, was improved significantly in both training groups compared to the control group," they add.
Women received a benefit even if they only did the exercises two times a week, the authors found.
SOURCE: Journal of the American Medical Association 2003;289:2509-2516.
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