Neck pain. Most of us get it at some point. The neck is one of the hardest workers in the body. Firstly, it has to be strong enough to support the head –home of the all important brain. However, it also has to be flexible enough to allow the eyes a wide range of vision.
Causes can be anything from your posture when working, to running style, to the wearing down of joints from age. Along with pain you may also have trouble moving your head, get spasms and tight muscles, or even headaches.
The overuse of the muscles in the neck is one of the main causes of pain in this area. It is one of the most common because there are so many activities in everyday life that allow for the straining and stiffness of the neck. These include too much time hunched over the computer or phone, reading in bed or even just gritting your teeth.
Luckily, there things you can do to avoid letting your neck stiffen and strain:
- Sleep on your back and ensure you have a good quality pillow.
- Avoid keeping your neck in one position for too long – when texting or working on a computer take regular breaks to stretch your neck and make sure the computer or device is at eye level.
- Try not to speak on the phone with your head tilted to one side. A headset or hands free device can help with this.
- Drink lots of water – the discs between your vertebrae are made of mostly water so making sure you stay hydrated during the day helps to keep them flexible and strong.
- Steer clear of carrying too much weight on one side – make sure you carry as little as possible in your briefcase or purse to lighten the load and try to keep your shoulders level. Even better would be a backpack that evenly distributes the weight across your back.
Thankfully, no matter what the cause of your neck pain, our lovely osteopaths at Everything’s Connected use a tailored movement approach to help get you on your way to be more pain-free!