Tips to Tame Nagging Neck Pain
Young or old, neck pain troubles everyone sometimes. Some wake up experiencing pain in the neck and some encounter it pulling off everyday work at home or office. Neck pain doesn’t go away quickly and can hamper one’s productivity at work and make days painful. Simple prevention and treatment hacks are the best to curb and prevent neck pain. Read below to know the same.
Sleeping on the back is the best position to prevent neck pain as this posture lets the entire spine rest well. If one wishes to sleep on the sides, just make sure the pillow is not too low or too high. The ideal pillow height is 4 to 6 inches depending on the distance between neck and shoulder points as well as the density of the pillow material.
Numerous people suffer from neck pain due to gazing at laptops or computer from a higher level. As per the medical experts, one should keep the computer at his/her eye level. Hence, keep the computer monitor at such height or lower the chair to ensure you gaze top-third part of the computer from eye level without looking down or up to it.
Smartphone usage has also increased the issue of neck pain as people use it for prolonged time periods and frequently for official work, social networking and entertainment. Thus, take frequent conscious breaks from using the phone. Switch off the digital addiction after a set cut off time.
Spending a few minutes on exercises such as chin tuck is easy for everyone even in the midst of a busy day. Exercises and stretching play a crucial role to strengthen the neck muscles and prevent neck pain.
Alongside the prevention, one must be aware of how to treat neck pain to counter this issue if it hurts health. Learn the same below.
Cold and heat therapies are popular to relieve neck pain and people use any one of them as per their will. Cold therapy helps relieve the inflammation if applied within the first 24 to 48 hours since the beginning of neck pain. Opting for heat therapy spurs the blood flow and paves way for faster healing.
Gentle stretching does wonders when it comes to easing the stiffness of the neck and pain. Perform all the stretches slowly and gently as the sudden movement can make the pain worse. Some of the stretches are mentioned below:
Having a gentle massage can help the neck muscles to stretch and loosen up. Hence, get a massage done by a professional to soothe the neck pain.
Over the counter, medicines serve well to diminish various aches. Different over the counter medicines such as ibuprofen and naproxen sodium, etc. can be as used as \pain killers.
Lifting heavy weight and performing physical activities can increase neck pain. Hence, limit physical activities and rest well till the pain goes away. If the neck pain interferes with your daily life and doesn’t relieve after some days, then see a doctor.