When life is a pain in the neck: avoiding the strain of neck and back stress.

A lifestyle that allows only five or six hours of sleep a night does not allow the muscles around the spine to relax and rejuvinate.

It's as common a sight in the work-place today as the PC, fax machine, and cellular telephone. It's people working with their hands, usually in front of a computer terminal, with a telephone receiver gripped firmly between their head and shoulder.

The same goes at home--a telephone propped on the shoulder while fixing dinner, folding laundry, or doing other household chores. Even worse are those who drive with a telephone clutched in this awkward manner while taking messages or eating at the wheel.

This new posture is a by-product of the nineties' hectic lifestyle--doing multiple tasks at once under greater pressure and greater time constraints. It's no wonder that neurosurgeons and physical therapists around the country are treating more individuals with serious neck pain, including ruptured discs, strained muscles, and nerve damage.

Donna Martin, of Kansas City, was one of those individuals. As a public relations specialist in a high-profile position, Martin spent a great deal of time on the telephone while working at the computer, taking notes from the conversation or managing other projects. Although she was a healthy 36-year-old who exercised regularly, she awakened in the middle of the night with chest pains and numbness in her left arm.

"I thought I was having a heart attack," she said. "I couldn't breathe and the sharp pain in my left arm was excruciating."

A trip to the emergency room, followed by a series of tests, including a CT scan, myelogram, and MRI, identified three cervical ruptured disks as the source of Martin's pain. Surgery, bed rest, and physical therapy had Martin back to work, but with many restrictions, in about three months.

Her case is typical of about 50 percent of the cases seen at emergency rooms, physical therapy centers and surgeons" offices around the country, according to Paul Camarata, a neurosurgeon in Kansas City. "As often as not, it is likely that a healthy young person, in their 20s or 30s and with no antecedent, will wake up in the night with ruptured disks " Camarata said. "We don't know if people turn awkwardly in the night or what, but the stress and fatigue in the muscles must find a release."

Advances in technology in the past decade, especially the use of MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), now allow surgeons to see a degenerated disk and the impact on the spinal nerve.

"We are seeing more of it either because it is being recognized now more than before or because the stress of modern life is making those pains more prominent," Camarata said.

According to Camarata, the seven cervical vertebrae in the neck and the five lumbar vertebrae of the lower back are most exacerbated by stress. The disks between the vertebrae serve as a shock absorber between the bones. When muscles and ligaments become very tight through stress or strain, their support of the bone and disk structure is minimized. In many cases they are the sole cause of stress on the disks, although whiplash and other accidental trauma are more frequently associated with neck injuries.

"People are not resting well or for long enough periods of time," Camarata said. "Too many restless nights of sleep or a lifestyle that allows only five or six hours of sleep a night does not allow the body, particularly the muscles around the spine, to relax and rejuvenate."

Certain physiologic conditions can also predispose some people to pain in the cervical and lumbar areas. "We do know that as the body ages, the disks in the neck and back lose their water and become brittle," Camarata said. "These dehydrated disks will not necessarily herniate, but it is more likely that they will."

What exactly causes some people to experience pain and stress related injuries in the cervical area is largely unknown. Camarata is optimistic, however, about developing technologies.

"Our imaging techniques are not yet advanced enough to see all of soft tissue injuries, but we are quickly developing technologies that will allow us to understand and treat these pains," he said. "The nervous system, more than any other field of medical science, is a vast frontier."

Until the time that more specialized treatment is available, Camarata joins the Congress of Neurological Surgeons in urging people to take any persistent neck or back pain quite seriously. Permanent weakness or loss of muscular strength may develop without competent treatment.

Although the science of neurology has many frustrating voids for those who suffer untreatable spinal pain, most pain can be managed through the combined efforts of competent neurologists, neurosurgeons, and physical therapists.

RELATED ARTICLE: How to Ease Neck Stress

What are some things you can do to relax your cervical muscles? Neurosurgeon Paul Camarata offers the following advice:

* Take regular breaks, about every 15 minutes, while working at any task. Slowly move your neck in all positions in a gentle motion.

* If your work involves talking on the telephone for lengthy periods, a telephone headset is a must. Shoulder cushions for the receiver or even holding the telephone by hand still strain the neck and shoulder muscles unnecessarily.

* Flex your neck in all directions, giving it some resistance by placing your hand on your forehead.

* Good posture throughout the day, whether sitting or standing, helps maintain good spinal mechanics. While sitting, keep the back slightly arched.

* When preparing for sleep, lie flat on your back with no pillow under your head, but one under your knees. Lie this way for at least 15 minutes, allowing your muscles to relax in their natural position.

* Do not sleep on your stomach with your head turned to the side.

* Invest in a good mattress.