neck problems when reading in bed

Hi Amethyst,

I can totally understand that reading in bed is one of life's real pleasures. Now we cannot give you individual advice, but informally what you may find helpful is a special chunk of foam which is light enough to lift up on the bed and makes a slope for you to sit up against, just for reading. But I would not be able to tell you if your physiotheapist would approve.

On a self-management level it's worth remembering that staying in one position too long can make you sore, so having breaks to move around may be helpful too.

In order to get some more formal guidance for this, you might consult a physiotherapist or OT (do see the DLF website http://www.dlf.org.uk/ )

If your neck is particularly troublesome you may want to check with the rheumatology people about how well your arthritis is controlled, or if they think it's more of a mechanical problem (in which case keeping moving is going to be even more recommended).

If you'd like some more information on self-management, send your name and address to helplines@arthritiscare.org.uk and we'll post you more on that.

Hope that helps
Guy