Stiff Neck Remedies

These days so many people are always looking at their phones or computer screens. It’s not surprising that the CDC and Prevention magazine both say about 20 percent of the population complain about having a stiff or painful neck in the last 90 days.

Chiropractors will tell you that you usually get a stiff neck due to weak muscles caused by overuse or bad posture. Looking down at a phone or computer all day will stretch your muscles near the joints in the neck and cause fatigue from overuse. Things you do all the time like driving for long stretches during the day or the computer and phone use cause this to happen. All of the above works to cause the neck joints to get displaced.

Weakened muscles in the neck cause problems in turning your head. The joints don’t work very smoothly anymore. The joint could also get caught onto another part of the body. And you end up having a pulled muscle or irritating the nerve, or both could occur.  That will cause sudden pain, as well as put the body into a spasm, as it tries to protect itself.

Since the body doesn’t want to feel more pain, it will clench up. That makes it hard to move at all, and the person wonders what went wrong and how they hurt themselves.

Stretch to stop your stiff neck now

You can keep from getting neck pain with a few adjustments and exercises. You can set a computer monitor up at eye-level. Proper posture can also prevent neck pain. Twisting or tilting your neck downward or sideways while using the phone or computer can cause neck pain as well. If you must drive for long stretches, stop often to take a break, and try not to bend your neck forward for hours at a time.

The secret to relieving neck pain is to use the right kind of manipulation and stretching exercises. Some of these include:

• Rolling the shoulders backwards and downwards ten times
• Squeezing the shoulder blades together for ten times
• Pushing the head backwards to rest on the vehicle’s headrest or in your hands, and then holding that position 30 seconds
• Bringing the ear to the shoulder. Do it ten times for each side

Pay attention to sleeping positions

If you suffer from a sore neck, watch the position you sleep in. You should only sleep on the side or back, not on the stomach. Sleeping on the stomach can cause a person to twist their head back and forth for several hours. Plus, it doesn’t offer enough support for the lower back since the stomach sinks into the mattress.

For slight, normal reasons for a sore neck, you can try out the following easy treatments:

• Put ice or heat on the area that hurts. Ice should be used the first two days to two and a half days, and then trade off and use some type of heat. Heat can be from a heating pad, hot compress or by taking a warm shower. Don’t sleep while using a heating pad or an ice pack or it could cause an injury to your skin.

• Try over the counter medications for pain like acetaminophen or ibuprofen.

• Stay moving, however, try not to jerk around or participate in activities that hurt. This will lessen the symptoms and help to lessen inflammation.

• Try slow and gentle exercises for range of motion, such as moving the neck side to side, ear to ear or up and down to stretch out your neck muscles.

• Get someone to rub the area that hurts in a gentle manner.

• Sleep on a firmer mattress sans pillows or get a specialized neck pillow.

• Talk to your doctor about wearing a soft collar on your neck to get rid of pain. Don’t use it long term, as that could cause the muscles in the neck to weaken.

If all else fails and your pain causes you to not be able to get through your normal activities every day, then it’s time to contact your physician.