9 Lesser-Known Tips for Easing Neck Pain

Here are 9 lesser known tips for easing neck pain which you should know if you often suffer from neck pain:

• Opt for a neck supporting chair

  When you sit in a position leaning your head in the forward direction adds up the pressure exerted on your spine. Therefore, a small thing like maintaining your head in its natural position on the cervical spine would go a long way to relieve neck pain. Likewise, a headrest would come in handy for relieving neck pain. Thus, if you are an office worker, use a chair with a headrest to position your head at ease on the headrest such that the ears are relaxed above the shoulders.

• Use a water pillow

  One of the common problems faced by the patients is a lack of proper sleep due to severe neck pain, which results in a disturbing day. Although there is no stated pillow for relieving neck pain from sleeping, many patients have had positive improvements using a water pillow. A water pillow gives more control over the pillow’s firmness required to relieve the neck pain. The firmness can be controlled by increasing or decreasing the amount of water. A pillow with higher water content will be firmer than the one with less water.

• Visit a physical therapist
  
  A physical therapy session is considered one of the best ways to ease a sore neck caused due to a given injury. It is usually due to sports injury or some accident. Physical therapy for the neck would be beneficial in:

1. Targeting improper posture or habits which result in pain 
2. Teach you how to avoid reinjuries 
3. Strengthen the back muscles to prevent injury

So get in touch with a physical therapist to relieve neck pain from sleeping. 

• Try gua sha

  Gua sha is a Chinese traditional medicinal way to enhance blood flow and clear blocked energy, thus easing neck pain. A trained practitioner would use a spoon and short strokes on the painful area, relieving neck pain. Though there is no scientific proof behind this technique, Gua Sha has benefited many people to relieve neck pain from sleeping.

• Spend some time in the pool

  Swimming is an excellent way to relieve neck pain as it is a low impact exercise. In addition, while swimming, the water, thanks to buoyancy, reduces the spine muscles’ stress. Depending on the reason, ask your doctor which swimming strokes would be the best way to relieve neck pain.

• Meditation

  You should consider including medication for a few minutes every day to reduce stress levels and ease neck pain. Some meditation exercises include controlling breath and guided meditation, such as feeling that the neck pain moves out through the arms to the fingers and eventually moves out of your body.

• Maintain a journal

  One of the common reasons behind neck pain is stress. Maintaining a journal helps express emotions, reducing stress levels and enhancing clarity. If you don’t prefer writing, you can try out audio recordings for the purpose.

Also, maintaining the journal would help you identify the common triggers that worsened your pain.

• Cognitive behavioural therapy

  The journey of finding what relieves neck pain and what triggers it can be exhausting and frustrating. A behavioural therapist would be helpful in how to take these challenges in a new way. With new ways to win over the challenge of relieving neck pain, you would be more motivated to follow your treatment.

  The scientific evidence on using cognitive behavioural therapy has had mixed results. However, some people have found it helpful to ease neck pain.

• Posture while using your devices

  One of the most common causes of neck pain is improper posture while using mobiles, tablets, etc. Many fail to realise that improper posture while using the phone puts extra pressure on the cervical spine. Looking down to read from a phone or tablet for hours in a day makes the pain worse on the following day.

  Try to use a hands-free headset for calling. While texting or reading from the device, keep it at a higher angle than usual to ease neck pain. Always try to reduce the angle at which you have inclined your neck. Stay active and take breaks in between work. Stretch out your muscles and move around your neck to avoid stiffness.

Here we have discussed 9 lesser known tips for easing neck pain which would help you for sure. However, if you face continuous pain, it is better to seek medical advice. At Germanten Hospitals, our team of well-experienced doctors would ensure a speedy treatment and recovery for all your ailments. Contact us to know more.