Ten Tips for Neck Pain

We see a lot of patients that present with tension in the neck and shoulder area, which is often accompanied by pain.

A common cause of neck pain is that the facet joints can become restricted in movement, and muscles attaching along the neck become tight. Facet joints can become irritated or inflamed if they are not moving correctly, and we can develop trigger points in our muscles, which are areas of sensitive muscle fibres due to overuse or injury.

The good news is there are plenty of things you can do to help your neck pain!

1. Check your Posture

Prevention is always better than trying to cure a problem after it has began. If we maintain good posture when working, reading and looking at our phones, this can help the joints and muscles in the neck work in the most optimum way. Which in turn will effectively reduce stress put onto the joints and muscles.

2. Pay attention to your Driving position

Keeping yourself upright and supported whilst driving can help to maintain good posture. First of all check your position, make sure that you are in an upright and comfortable position. Now fully straighten both of your arms in front of you and the crease between your wrist and hand should rest on top of the steering wheel. Adjust your seat position or steering wheel until this is the case. Now you can place your hands at the 10 to 2 position with out over reaching or being too close. Next, make sure you’re sitting upright, and adjust your rear view mirror so that you can see behind clearly. When driving, every time you check your mirror you will sit back up if you have slouched

3. Movement is key

Are bodies are designed to move, so get up from sitting every 30 minutes, and add some simple stretches into your work day routine as well.

4. Stretch!

Stretching both sides of your neck can help to maintain movement and reduce pain and tension.

Why not try out these exercises below?

Neck Flexion Overstretch

Bend your neck forwards, and place a hand on your back of your head and gently pull your neck so that your chin tucks downwards. This will stretch your neck muscles. Hold the stretch for 15 seconds and relax.

Neck Flexion with Side Flexion

Bend your neck to the side by taking your left ear towards your left shoulder. Now tuck your chin towards your chest. Hold the stretch for 15 seconds and relax. You can use your hand to gently assist. This will allow you to feel a stretch at the back and side of your neck.

Neck Side Flexion Stretch

Ensuring your nose is pointing forwards, bend your neck as if you were taking your left ear towards your left shoulder. Hold the stretch for 15 seconds and then repeat to the right. This exercise will help improve mobility to your neck.

5. Strengthening

Isometric Neck Extension

Place your palm on the back of your head, and resist tilting your head backwards. Your head will stay fairly still. You may feel a gentle contraction of the muscles at the back of your neck. Hold the contraction for 3 seconds and repeat 8 times. For best result, do 3 sets of 8 repetitions daily

Isometric Neck Flexion

Place your palm on your forehead, and resist flexion of your neck while keeping your head still. Hold, and then relax. You should feel the muscles at the front and side of your neck contracting. Hold the contraction for 3 seconds and repeat 8 times. For best result, do 3 sets of 8 repetitions daily

6. Use Ice

To relieve symptoms, place an icepack across the back of the neck and shoulders for 15 minutes, at least 3 times a day. Make sure its wrapped in a cloth so the ice pack is not directly in contact with your skin.

7. Use the right Pillows at night time

Using the Sissel orthopaedic pillow helps to maintain a neutral position of your head and neck. It also helps to maintain the normal curvatures in your neck which minimises stress and strain on your joints.

If you are a patient at the clinic, why not enquire at reception to borrow our loan pillow for up to 5 nights to see if it works for you? You get to try it before you buy it. If you love it, we have some brand new ones in stock ready for you to take home that day!

TOP TIP: If you don’t have a Sissel orthopaedic pillow, try sleeping with one pillow if you typically sleep on your back, or two pillows if you are a side sleeper.

8. Sleeping position

As we spend several hours every night in bed, it is important we look after our bodies whilst getting some rest. To reduce stress on the neck, sleep on your back or your side. Avoid sleeping on your front as this often leads to long periods of poor posture, and is a common cause of neck pain in patients. Interested in more on sleep hygiene? Then check out more information here.

9. Reduce stress levels

Try and take some time out for mindfulness, mediations and fun things in life that distract you from ongoing stressors that you may have. When we get stressed, even at low levels, this can lead to increased muscle tension in our neck and shoulders. If you take time out to help manage your stress levels, you can also help your neck pain and tension.

10. Maintain Chiropractic care

Chiropractors assess your nerves, muscles and joints to diagnose the cause of your pain and dysfunction. We can then use multiple techniques including gentle joint mobilisations, spinal manipulations and soft tissue techniques such as massage or dry needling. This helps to restore the movement in the joints, and reduce tension in the muscles, making you feel great again.

If you would like further advice on how to prevent your neck pain, do not hesitate to get in touch, or book in for Chiropractic care via our online booking system.