Neck pains are the worst and if they’re chronic, then they’re nothing less than a nightmare. If you’re in the same boat, then here are some ways by which you can deal with neck pain. However, the advice of your GP or orthopedic surgeon is critical in neck pain treatment and management.
Chronic Neck Pain
The neck is a very vital part of the body. It’s made up of the vertebra that extends from the skull down your back. There are various bones, ligaments, spaces, and nerves near it and all of them have different functionalities.
The neck has cervical discs that absorb any pressure on the neck. If you’re driving and you jerk forward or move your head too much, that’s where the cervical discs help a lot in ensuring that the neck doesn’t snap.
Sometimes, however, the neck can be under a lot of strain and it can cause severe pain. Now, this pain either goes away when the stress is relieved but sometimes, it doesn’t and this is what leads to chronic pain. It’s highly uncomfortable and hard to deal with, and there can come a point where you’re unable to turn and twist your neck because it hurts too much.
Causes Of Chronic Neck Pain
Chronic neck pain can be due to multiple reasons. Some of them are as follows:
- Whiplash injuries that cause you and your neck to jerk forward with too much force can cause neck pains. If not treated, this can turn into chronic neck pain.
- If you put a lot of strain on your neck, then it can cause chronic neck pain in the long run.
- Bad posture can lead to neck pain. Crouching down, not sitting straight, and keeping your head down can cause chronic neck pain.
- Aging can also lead to neck pain.
- Mental and physical stress and anxiety can cause your body to lock up and the tension in the muscles can lead to neck pain, even chronic in some cases.
- Vitamin D deficiency can also lead to stiffness and brittleness in the bones, hence leading to chronic neck pain.
- Bone disorders like arthritis and osteoporosis can lead to neck pain.
Symptoms Of Chronic Neck Pain
Now that you know how neck pain is caused and how it can become chronic, here are some symptoms you need to look out for. See a spine and back doctor Woodbridge for diagnosis and treatments.
- You will feel a dull and consistent pain in your neck.
- Your neck will feel very stiff and you won’t be able to twist or turn it.
- You will have a hard time trying to look down or crane your neck up.
- You might also experience a headache.
- You will feel tingling or numbness all the way down to your arms and that’s an alarming sign.
Chronic Neck Pain Treatments And Management
Here are some things you can do to deal with chronic neck pain:
Get An Ergonomic Chair
Firstly, you want to look at things around the house that you’re using daily. If your work involves a lot of sitting and you just can’t seem to be comfortable, then find a good chair with neck support. This is going to help in keeping the neck straight and you won’t have to strain your neck to do work.
Try Hot & Cold Compress
This is a tried-and-true method of alleviating pain, especially if it’s chronic. You want to invest in cold and hot bags. What makes this bag amazing is the fact that you can use it for hot and cold compresses without having a million different things. You can put it in the microwave and put the hot bag on the neck for a relieving compress. Then, you can throw the bag in the freezer and enjoy an invigorating cold compress. The alternating hot and cold temperatures will make the pain go away.
Try Out Physical Therapy
If your neck is in a lot of pain and the cause was a bad accident or insufficient healing, then you need to give physical therapy a go. Physical therapy helps to get rid of the tension in your neck but also allows movement so that you can move your neck without it feeling cramped or too stiff.
You can try out light stretches and neck pain exercises and you’ll feel like a million bucks in no time. You can get a physical therapist from your hospital or you can try different and basic-level exercises by yourself if you’re confident.
Take Medication
Sometimes, medicine is the only way out for you. You can try as many things as you want, but the real relief is in those magical pills. With chronic neck pain, however, things can be a little different and challenging, because you don’t want to take medicines daily.
What works is that you build a routine and only take medicine when you’re going to sleep or when you know that you need to go somewhere and you can’t be bothered by the pain. This is great because you can keep tabs on how many pain pills you eat in a day.
Massages For The Win
If you’re looking for a relaxing way to get rid of your pain and pamper yourself, then a massage is the way to go. Your body can get tense and locked up, especially if you’re stressed and this can cause your neck to strain too. This is why you need to let your body lose with a nice and relaxing massage.
You can get it done by focusing the majority of the massage on your neck and head so that you feel de-stressed, limb-loose, and energized. A massage will certainly make a huge difference in how your neck feels.
Get A Water Pillow
Sometimes, regular pillows just don’t cut it and it can be really hard if you’re sleeping on one of them with your neck always in pain. For this, you can try getting a water pillow. A water pillow is amazing because it molds according to your body’s contours and your neck doesn’t strain too. This is amazing if you were in a bad accident and you just can’t sleep on those sturdy pillows.
A water pillow will be cushy, soft and so comfortable that it will give your neck a relaxing place to rest on, all the while keeping pain at bay.
Practice Better Posture
You need to practice better posture. Are you always looking down at your phone? Do you hunch your back a lot? These things, even though they might seem harmless, can do a lot of damage, if you’re not too careful.
Bad posture is one of the top causes of chronic neck pain and you need to tackle this issue with a straight back otherwise you’ll always be in pain. So, whenever you see yourself hunching down or supporting your neck weirdly, stop yourself and fix your posture and back immediately.
Conclusion
Chronic neck pain is really hard to deal with and it can affect your daily life. Luckily now you know how to alleviate the dull and pinching pain. If the pain is going on for months and affecting your life, visit a pain management clinic Woodbridge for various ways of managing the pain.
