Commonly in patients with mechanical neck pain report pain provocation from activity, these activities may involve prolonged sitting postures, movements towards the extremes of range, such as looking up high, or repetitive, prolonged (computer/ office work) and/or strenuous upper-limb activities (such as stacking a shelf overhead). All of these activities may have moved the cervical spine away from the neutral zone for a prolonged period.
When viewed anatomically the neutral zone is a region of intervertebral motion around the neutral posture where little resistance is offered by the passive spinal column.
This means that the loads associated with maintaining a regular neck posture are reduced. By reducing abnormal strain on supporting muscles and joints, it promotes a more sustainable physical state that may withstand daily stresses without injury or pain.
It is when these loads are no longer within the normal parameters for the muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints of the cervical spine that pain may arise, this is known as mechanical neck pain (MNP).
