5 Tips for Neck Pain
Is this months blog I will give you my 5 tips for neck pain relief. Over the past 20 years I have treated thousands of patients with acute and chronic Neck pain. In the case of acute neck pain it is usually a result of a auto accident resulting in whiplash or some kind of slip and fall. In terms of chronic neck pain this is primarily the result of poor posture and long periods of sitting at a desk or computer. With what seems like the whole world working from home now I have seen a dramatic increase in the number of patients that are coming in with chronic neck and shoulder pain. With this in mind below I will give you my favorite 5 tips for neck pain relief.
1) Chiropractic Care
- Increases the mobility of cervical joints which will reduce muscle tension and inflammation.
- Improve the mobility of the thoracic joints in order to reduce stress within the cervical spine.
- Restore or maintain the normal cervical curve which will result in less muscle tension and stress on the spine and nervous system
- Help identify and address any long term degenerative processes that may be going on in the spinal joints.
2) Ergonomics
- Address your work station ergonomics immediately.
- Get off the laptop keyboard. Buy a wireless mouse and keyboard combo and then use them so that your hands are farther apart and use a real mouse.
- Next, raise your laptop up to eye height by putting it on one of those left over Amazon boxes you have laying around.
- Invest is a sit stand desk and stand up for 30 min every hour.
- Use a wireless headset for conversations on the phone.
3) Avoid Text Neck
- Put down your cell phone on a desk or table when possible. Holding your phone with one hand and typing with the other in a disaster for your posture.
- Stop holding your ipad or reader device, holding them will create forward head posture and anteriorly rounded shoulders.
- Look up and see the world as much as you can, limit long periods of texting or typing on your phone.
- Use voice text when possible.
4) Stretch Daily 15 min
- Stretch your chest and shoulders 3 to 4 times a day.
- Use a therapy ball or device like the TheraCane to massage out trigger points in your Pec Major/Minor muscles.
- Lay flat on your back vertically on a 36″ Foam Roller with your arms out to the side and opening up your chest.
- Note: DO NOT STRECTH your upper back and rhomboid muscles. These muscles are already over stretched from sitting all day.
5) Strengthen your postural muscles
- Perform Foundation Training exercises 3-4 times a week.
- Start doing I-Y-T exercises daily.
- Learn the proper way to do the Shoulder Rolls reset exercise, perform this 6-8 times a day after sitting for an hour.
If you suffer from neck an upper back pain I would encourage you to first start with our #1 tip in our 5 tips for Neck pain. That #1 tip is Chiropractic Care. It is best to start here because we need to first evaluate where your pain is coming from and rule out any other health issues. In our office we will complete a full medical history, perform a chiropractic examination including posture, perform chiropractic x-rays, and then give you a report of findings letting you know a game plan of action. Once we determine that chiropractic care is right for your condition we will start with chiropractic adjustments and help guide you through the other 4 tips for eliminating your neck and shoulder pain.
Contact the #1 Tempe Chiropractor today online at Reedchiropractic.com or by phone at 480-785-1355.
