According to statistics, neck pain has a yearly prevalence rate of around 30% among adults in the U.S. About 50% of people will keep experiencing some degree of chronic neck pain or regular occurrences. Around 20% to 70% of adults will have neck pain that disrupts their daily activities in their lifetime. Nearly 10% of neck pain is linked to diseases like ankylosing spondylitis, polymyalgia rheumatica, tumors, infections, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Neck pain may also be caused by your neck getting locked in awkward positions when sleeping, an injury, a pinched nerve, or bad posture. While neck pain can be prevented, you find ways to handle it when it happens. This article outlines five tips for easing neck pain.
1. Consider chiropractic care
Chiropractic care is an effective neck pain management treatment that offers a safe and non-invasive option to over-the-counter pain or prescription medications. With chiropractic neck care, joint misalignments and restrictions in the spine can be corrected, reducing inflammation and improving the associated nerve and joint function.
The resulting improvement in your neck’s body mechanics relieves neck pain and improves your upper back and neck’s overall function and mobility. Consider seeing your local chiropractor immediately if you experience neck pain to ensure a quick recovery and prevent the issue from worsening, possibly complicating recovery and treatment.
2. Try physical therapy
Physical therapy is a common chronic neck pain treatment that can help lessen stiffness or pain to a point where you can start exercise programs for stretching and strengthening the neck. It also improves neck and head motion range and establishes strategies to ensure the pain doesn’t recur.
Even if physical therapy doesn’t eliminate the pain, it enhances neck posture and daily movement functions. Your physiotherapist may recommend physical therapy if you’re experiencing unspecified chronic pain or recovering from surgery or an injury.
3. Pick the right office ergonomic chair
Leaning forward with a forward head position, your spine experiences extra stress. Maintaining excellent posture throughout your day ensures that the head naturally balances on the cervical spine, reducing pain. An ergonomic chair with a headrest ensures the cervical spine remains in a neutral position.
Consider keeping your head’s back comfortable against the headrest. You may also get a standing desk because standing results in a more natural posture and discourages you from leaning forward.
4. Go for massage
Neck massage is an excellent way to relieve pain and improve range of motion, primarily when done by a trained and experienced expert several times a week for multiple weeks. You can ease neck pain by using massage techniques such as Swedish massage, trigger point therapy, myofascial release, hot stone massage, and assisted stretch therapy.
Consult your massage therapist to determine a method that’s ideal for your kind of neck pain. You may also learn some massage strategies and try self-massaging your neck to relieve pain, especially when you can’t get a professional massage.
5. Try neck stretches
Neck exercises and stretches can help strengthen muscles while making them more limber. You can try backward and forward tilt, side tilt, side rotation, shoulder roll, and dumbbell shrug to ease neck pain. These movements can loosen your tense neck, give you more flexibility, and banish pain.
Endnote
Neck pain is common and can interfere with your daily activities. However, these tips can help ease neck pain.
