Neck pain can be significantly eased by strength-training the muscles in the neck, according to a new report.

Neck pain is the second most common muscle pain complaint (behind back pain), and women are more likely to suffer from it than men. Once serious sources for the pain have been ruled out, exercise is often suggested as a treatment, but until now there have been no good recommendations for the kind of exercise that’s best.

Recently researchers in Denmark studied 48 women, all of whom had been diagnosed with chronic neck pain. The women had neck-stressing jobs in banks, post offices, assembly lines, and offices. Most of them used a computer for at least three-quarters of their workday. The women were assigned to three groups. One group did general exercise, in which they rode a stationary bicycle; a second group performed a program of strength-training exercises targeting the neck muscles; and a third group did no exercise but received health counseling. The two exercise groups did their programs three times a week for 20 minutes over 10 weeks.

The women who did the general exercise showed a small improvement in neck pain. Their pain decreased by about 11%, and the benefit lasted only briefly. The group who did the specific strength training reported a significantly larger improvement in their neck pain, which decreased by 79%. And that improvement continued after the study ended.