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Has anyone had success for trapezius muscle pain and found a good fix? Part of my problem with sitting at a desk is my shoulders/neck always hurt. I think the i

Has anyone had success for trapezius muscle pain and found a good fix? Part of my problem with sitting at a desk is my shoulders/neck always hurt. I think the issue is that I need my wrists fully rested on my desk to avoid wrist pain, which then forces my shoulders to always be outstretched and flexed. I do have my monitor eye level and a solid adjustable chair. Have bought all other ergonomic equipment too and now looking into getting a contoured desk top to help as hopefully the final piece. Would love to hear your experience.

sharno 8y ago
I'm having the same problem but started standing more on the standing desk, with a ratio of about 30 min standing to 30 min sitting as I read somewhere. I figured out that when I'm standing I become more aware of my shoulder position and fix it a bit. Started also doing so workout for my upper body and I guess that's helping a bit
amelius 8y ago
I have two tips. One is yoga, and in particular the "cobra pose", to flex your back in the opposite direction. You can do it several times a day, also at work. The other is to increase awareness of your posture. Download a time-lapse video app for your phone, and make a time-lapse movie of yourself sitting at your desk during a day. You can show this movie to a therapist, so they can comment on it.
- YouKnowBetter 8y ago
  Your tip on the timelaps will make its rounds here in the office since many people suffer and this is an excellent tip to get real help. Bikram yoga is my poison of choice BTW. I found that really easy for a starter.
- andygcook 8y ago
  Timelapse video idea is a good one. Going to try that because it's so hard to be cognizant of posture all the time.
bryan11 8y ago
Switching to a standing desk greatly decreased how my upper back, neck, and shoulders would be tense. Keeping my back straight and not rolling my shoulders forward turned out to be an important part of that.
gameshot911 8y ago
I use the Microsoft sculpt keyboard. It has a detached number pad, which means you can move your mouse closer in line with your center of body, plus tlergonomically angled keys. I also use a mouse which let's you keep your wrist more naturally perpendicular to the floor.
- bagsvaerd70 8y ago
  What mouse?
- andygcook 8y ago
  I use a Kinesis 2 for Mac split keyboard at work. Definitely helped me get my arms more perpendicular to my desk and the the built wrist supports really help too.
vajenetehais 8y ago
A good posture wasn't enough for me (back, shoulders, wrists, good chair, everything...), what really worked, in my case, was weight loss (-17%). Now i'm in the very average, pain is entirely gone (sometimes i couldn't even sleep).
makewavesnotwar 8y ago
Some thoughts from my experience: 1) You mention your shoulders being outstretched and flexed when you work, that's a good place to start. When I work at a desk, I try to maintain a posture that keeps my arms parallel with my body until the elbow where my forearms then extend at a 90 degree angle or so. When I think of someone with their arms outstretched, it's hard for me to not imagine you're also leaning forward at least a bit which also puts stress on your neck. Aside from changing desks, you might want to look into an under-desk keyboard/mouse drawer/shelf to lower and extend those things to you in the correct position. You shouldn't be stretching to work at a computer. 2) Headphones. For me, hours wearing big over ear headphones can leave my neck and shoulders sore even when sitting with perfect posture. Consider using earbuds when you work. 3) Your bed. Most neck and back problems start in the bed, whether it's having a pillow that's not properly supportive or has dust mites, not turning your mattress often enough, sleeping on an old lumpy mattress or just sleeping in the wrong position. These things can all contribute to neck and back pain. Don't rule out the possibility that multiple factors could be contributing to your pain. 4) Light exercise with stretching/yoga. Can help eliminate lactic acid from your muscles contributing to the soreness. 5) Diet. This one's sort of on the low end of potential fixes but having too many foods that increase uric acid levels (alcohol, meat, dairy, fried foods, soda, etc...) could lead to joint stiffness in general or increased difficulty for your system in breaking down other acids that lend themselves to soreness like lactic acid.
- andygcook 8y ago
  Thanks for the detailed response. Agreed it's probably a holistic issue. Tough to live well when you're working on a computer at your startup all the time. Need to chisel out time for exercise at least. Also hadn't considered headphones before. The ones I have are over ear and now that you mention it are pretty heavy. Easy switch.
roel_v 8y ago
For me, using wrists supports makes all the difference. I switched to an 'Ultimate Hacking Keyboard' today which has wrist supports as an option; before this I've used an Ergodox for years which I used foam wrist supports with. I think the key to wrist supports is using a split keyboard, and setting it up for negative tilting (i.e., sloping away from you).
man2525 8y ago
Try an exercise called face pulls. You'll need a cable machine with either a rope handle or a towel and google or, preferably, a trainer. Unless you're unconsciously hunching your shoulders or something weird, you'll find out almost immediately if the exercise helps.
elbows 8y ago
A basic strength training routine did wonders for me. Squat, deadlift, bench press, lat pulldown. Just a couple sets of each, at moderate weights, about twice a week. Doing this routine for about a month fixed problems that had persisted through years of massage therapy, posture exercises, ergonomic chairs, etc.
mz00 8y ago
Working from a standing desk & performing daily sun salutations completely eliminated my chronic back pain.
abakker 8y ago
For me, when they get tight I roll them out with a lacrosse ball against a wall. Pin it between your trap and the wall and just roll around for a while. Push hard, and hold spots that feel tight. Try to breathe and relax the muscle into the ball.

sharno 8y ago

I'm having the same problem but started standing more on the standing desk, with a ratio of about 30 min standing to 30 min sitting as I read somewhere. I figured out that when I'm standing I become more aware of my shoulder position and fix it a bit. Started also doing so workout for my upper body and I guess that's helping a bit

amelius 8y ago

I have two tips. One is yoga, and in particular the "cobra pose", to flex your back in the opposite direction. You can do it several times a day, also at work. The other is to increase awareness of your posture. Download a time-lapse video app for your phone, and make a time-lapse movie of yourself sitting at your desk during a day. You can show this movie to a therapist, so they can comment on it.

YouKnowBetter 8y ago
Your tip on the timelaps will make its rounds here in the office since many people suffer and this is an excellent tip to get real help. Bikram yoga is my poison of choice BTW. I found that really easy for a starter.
andygcook 8y ago
Timelapse video idea is a good one. Going to try that because it's so hard to be cognizant of posture all the time.

bryan11 8y ago

Switching to a standing desk greatly decreased how my upper back, neck, and shoulders would be tense. Keeping my back straight and not rolling my shoulders forward turned out to be an important part of that.

gameshot911 8y ago

I use the Microsoft sculpt keyboard. It has a detached number pad, which means you can move your mouse closer in line with your center of body, plus tlergonomically angled keys. I also use a mouse which let's you keep your wrist more naturally perpendicular to the floor.

bagsvaerd70 8y ago
What mouse?
andygcook 8y ago
I use a Kinesis 2 for Mac split keyboard at work. Definitely helped me get my arms more perpendicular to my desk and the the built wrist supports really help too.

vajenetehais 8y ago

A good posture wasn't enough for me (back, shoulders, wrists, good chair, everything...), what really worked, in my case, was weight loss (-17%). Now i'm in the very average, pain is entirely gone (sometimes i couldn't even sleep).

makewavesnotwar 8y ago

Some thoughts from my experience: 1) You mention your shoulders being outstretched and flexed when you work, that's a good place to start. When I work at a desk, I try to maintain a posture that keeps my arms parallel with my body until the elbow where my forearms then extend at a 90 degree angle or so. When I think of someone with their arms outstretched, it's hard for me to not imagine you're also leaning forward at least a bit which also puts stress on your neck. Aside from changing desks, you might want to look into an under-desk keyboard/mouse drawer/shelf to lower and extend those things to you in the correct position. You shouldn't be stretching to work at a computer. 2) Headphones. For me, hours wearing big over ear headphones can leave my neck and shoulders sore even when sitting with perfect posture. Consider using earbuds when you work. 3) Your bed. Most neck and back problems start in the bed, whether it's having a pillow that's not properly supportive or has dust mites, not turning your mattress often enough, sleeping on an old lumpy mattress or just sleeping in the wrong position. These things can all contribute to neck and back pain. Don't rule out the possibility that multiple factors could be contributing to your pain. 4) Light exercise with stretching/yoga. Can help eliminate lactic acid from your muscles contributing to the soreness. 5) Diet. This one's sort of on the low end of potential fixes but having too many foods that increase uric acid levels (alcohol, meat, dairy, fried foods, soda, etc...) could lead to joint stiffness in general or increased difficulty for your system in breaking down other acids that lend themselves to soreness like lactic acid.

andygcook 8y ago
Thanks for the detailed response. Agreed it's probably a holistic issue. Tough to live well when you're working on a computer at your startup all the time. Need to chisel out time for exercise at least. Also hadn't considered headphones before. The ones I have are over ear and now that you mention it are pretty heavy. Easy switch.

roel_v 8y ago

For me, using wrists supports makes all the difference. I switched to an 'Ultimate Hacking Keyboard' today which has wrist supports as an option; before this I've used an Ergodox for years which I used foam wrist supports with. I think the key to wrist supports is using a split keyboard, and setting it up for negative tilting (i.e., sloping away from you).

man2525 8y ago

Try an exercise called face pulls. You'll need a cable machine with either a rope handle or a towel and google or, preferably, a trainer. Unless you're unconsciously hunching your shoulders or something weird, you'll find out almost immediately if the exercise helps.

elbows 8y ago

A basic strength training routine did wonders for me. Squat, deadlift, bench press, lat pulldown. Just a couple sets of each, at moderate weights, about twice a week. Doing this routine for about a month fixed problems that had persisted through years of massage therapy, posture exercises, ergonomic chairs, etc.

mz00 8y ago

Working from a standing desk & performing daily sun salutations completely eliminated my chronic back pain.

abakker 8y ago

For me, when they get tight I roll them out with a lacrosse ball against a wall. Pin it between your trap and the wall and just roll around for a while. Push hard, and hold spots that feel tight. Try to breathe and relax the muscle into the ball.