Your neck or shoulder has started aching, and chopping, reaching into cupboards or lifting a heavy pan now feels like hard work. Cooking involves a lot of looking down, reaching up and carrying weight away from your body. A few changes to how you set up and move around the kitchen can help while things settle.

Why cooking can affect your neck and shoulders

When you chop, peel or knead, your head tips forward to look at the worktop, often for long spells. Your shoulders may creep up as you concentrate. Reaching into high cupboards takes your arm overhead, and lifting a full pan or a casserole dish puts load through your shoulder, especially when it is held away from your body.

When your neck or shoulder is already sore, these everyday tasks can bring on discomfort. That does not mean you are causing harm. It is a sign to change how you approach some jobs for a while.

Looking down less

Some ideas to ease the load on your neck:

• Raise your chopping board on a thick board or a sturdy tray, so you do not need to bend your head as far.
• Stand close to the worktop, rather than leaning in.
• Prop recipes up at eye level, rather than reading them flat on the counter.
• Sit at the table for longer prep jobs, like peeling or podding.

Reaching up less

High cupboards can bother a sore shoulder. Some ideas:

• Move the things you use most to shelves between waist and shoulder height.
• Use a sturdy step to reach high shelves, rather than stretching up.
• Store heavy items, like stacks of plates or tins, at waist height.

Lifting more comfortably

Heavy pans and dishes can be hard on a sore neck or shoulder. Some ideas:

• Lift with both hands, keeping the weight close to your body.
• Choose lighter pans, or ones with a helper handle on the opposite side.
• Slide heavy pans along the worktop rather than lifting.
• Scoop food out of a pan, rather than lifting the whole pan to pour.
• Fill the kettle with only the water you need.

Baking and the oven

Kneading, rolling pastry and lifting trays can all load a sore neck or shoulder. A stand mixer with a dough hook, no-knead recipes and rolling pastry in shorter spells can help. Using the higher oven shelf, and lifting trays with both hands in oven gloves, keeps the weight closer to your body.

Washing up

Standing at the sink with your head bent can add up. Raising the washing-up bowl on an upturned tub, standing close to the sink and washing up in shorter spells can help. Leaving pans to soak saves scrubbing too.

Prepping in short blocks

Long spells of chopping or stirring are often what bothers a sore neck most. Breaking prep into short blocks of 10 to 15 minutes, with a quick pause in between, can help. Simpler recipes, frozen chopped vegetables or one-tray meals can ease the load for a while.

Quick resets while you cook

These take less than a minute and fit in while the kettle boils:

• Slowly turn your head to look over each shoulder.
• Gently tilt your ear towards each shoulder.
• Roll your shoulders backwards five times.
• Draw your shoulder blades gently back and down, hold for a few seconds, then relax.

If you would like to follow along, VIDA has short videos of shoulder squeezes and guided neck stretches you can use at your own pace.

When to get it checked

You should get it checked by a GP or physiotherapist if you have tingling, numbness or weakness in your arm or hand, if pain keeps you awake most nights, or if you cannot lift your arm.

Building back up

As your neck or shoulder settles, you can gradually return to longer prep sessions and heavier dishes. Your VIDA pain check-in is a good way to keep track of how things respond.

What to take away

• Looking down, reaching up and lifting heavy pans can load a sore neck or shoulder.
• Raise your chopping board and prop recipes at eye level.
• Keep heavy items at waist height and lift with both hands.
• Prep in short blocks with quick pauses.
• Get it checked if you notice arm tingling, night pain or cannot lift your arm.

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