Q: I am a 27 years old male suffering from cervical (neck) pain for the last few days. How can it be managed? Please tell me some tips for sleeping at night and working on computer. What exercises I can do to get relief from it?

A:Most of the stresses of long working hours are felt in the neck area as well as along the spinal column. There are many remedies for this, in areas that need a little planning, preventive care and then remedial care. Make sure that when you work, your furniture and workspace area adhere to basic ergonomic rules. The table should be at the right height to the chair. The chair should have the correct dimensions, so that it is comfortable to sit as well provide adequate support to the elbows (for shoulder support), to the small of the back and have the necessary depth and height to prevent drag on the back.

If you work on a computers or laptops, make sure you are not over exceeding your neck muscles by constantly looking too far low or high. An easy rule to go by is that the chin should be parallel to the ground, during working position. The screen should be at arm's length; the shoulders should be down and relaxed, not tensed. Every hour at least, make sure you look away and get up to walk around so that the blood circulation can take place. For remedial help, every now and then, stretch your muscles by these easy exercises:

• Entwine your fingers by clasping your hands in front of you. Now hold both your arms at chest level and pull gently so you feel a stretch in the back of the shoulders.
• Now entwine your fingers by clasping your hands behind you and raise to as much is comfortable and pull so that you feel a stretch in the front of the chest.
• Now do the same raising your arms above your head.
• With both arms by your side, gently tilt your head to one side so that the ear is towards the shoulder. You will feel a stretch on the opposite side of the neck. Do the same on the other side. Please be careful not to do so with jerky movements.