Home Treatment for Neck Pain

Neck problems can cause pain, headaches and a loss of energy. Often referred to as conditions like arthritis of the neck, spondylosis of the neck, herniated or bulging disc, myofascitis and, when symptoms extend into the arm, radiculitis and neuritis.

Most of us, at some time in our lives, suffer from some kind of pain in the neck or pain from the neck that is felt in the shoulders, shoulder blades or into the arm. Neck pain can also radiate as far down as the hand with pins and needles or numbness felt into the fingers. Headaches can also be linked to problems in the neck.

These neck related problems may vary in intensity and duration. There may be days where no pain is felt and other times when the pain is more constant. People who experience constant neck pain may have to rely on medications and may even have to stop working or reduce other activities which have a disabling effect on their lives in efforts to keep the pain to a minimal level.

If you have chronic neck pain, you have been experiencing pain that lasts for months or even years. You may have had treatments that stop or reduce the intensity of the pain, only to find that the pain later returns. Many have had treatments for neck pain from chiropractors, physical therapists and medical doctors that has failed to alleviate the problem on a long term basis, thus finding it necessary to repeat office visits and medications to get neck pain relief.

How Important is Your Neck Pillow?

Studies have shown that a neck pillow can improve the quality of sleep and reduce pain levels. These studies, while usually of poor design and/or influenced by commercial incentives, focus on pillow design, rather than quality and specific properties of materials. Due to the large number of commercially available neck pillows, it is impossible to include all pillows in designed trials, thus studies regarding the how to choose the right neck pillow remain elusive and fail to surpass the credibility from health professionals providing patient advice based on the anecdotal suggestions of expert colleagues and professional associations.

The quality of sleep is influenced by many factors. A good neck pillow is an essential factor, especially for those suffering from neck pain and discomfort. There are a wide variety of pillows available on the market today in various materials, shapes and sizes. They are always emphasized to be a better product to benefit neck pain and sleep than others. However, as noted, there is not clear scientific evidence to prove these claims.

Choosing the right neck pillow to help relieve neck pain

Almost one third of our life is spent sleeping. Sleep is an essential biological need. In addition to rest and relaxation, proper sleep is necessary in order to maintain good physical and mental health. In recent years, changes in lifestyle because of too many activities, sleep time is compressed to lesser and lesser amount. Neck pain can affect the time and quality of sleep. How to improve the quality of sleep by reducing the level of neck pain or discomfort and in such a limited duration of sleep is a very important issue which leads many people to seek a new pillow.

Many experts have suggested that poor neck posture and support during the night may be responsible for waking with neck pain and stiffness, headache and shoulder blade or arm pain. Headaches originating from the neck are called cervicogenic headaches. They are referred from the upper levels of the neck. Shoulder blade and arm pain can be referred from the lower levels of the neck. It is suggested that individuals who wake in the morning with symptoms that were not present the night before, or patients whose symptoms are worse in the morning than when they retired the preceding night, are probably either using an unsuitable pillow or adopting poor neck posture overnight.

Degenerative Disc Disease

Neck and back pain is strongly associated with degenerative disc disease. The diseased state of disc degeneration is also associated with sciatica and disc herniation. The process of degeneration alters disc height and the mechanics of the rest of the spine and may cause problems with other supporting structures such as muscles and ligaments. The long term consequences are spinal stenosis, which is a major cause of pain and disability. The incidence of degenerative disc disease is rising in the population and is the reason for over 90% of all spinal surgeries.

Muscle Strain Of The Neck

When neck pain and muscle soreness has been present for some time, often it can be traced to factors which strain muscle such as poor posture. Correcting such factors along with self massage and heat directed to specific areas of the neck muscles may provide relief from neck pain.

A neck herniated disc

For long term management of a herniated disc, restoration of normal motion is important. The use of heat for neck pain relief is important to reduce muscle spasm. Additionally, a tens unit can be used for pain relief to avoid prolonged dependence on medications. To promote early mobilization with a passive motion, the neck massager is a wonderful therapy to use before active neck exercises can be performed. Often, a home neck traction unit can begin to restore normal biomechanical relationships and ease nerve tension. Chiropractic adjustments can provide additional relief and biomechanical support although I do recommend gentle, low force techniques for any confirmed neck herniated disc.

Exercises For Neck Stability

Neck stability exercises can improve spinal flexibility while decreasing pain and restore dynamic stability with chronic neck dysfunction.

Exercises that work towards stability with increased flexibility help to reduce chronic neck pain and make it easier to keep your neck in a healthy position. Tight muscles cause imbalances in spinal movements and this can leave one vulnerable to neck injury more. Flexibility exercises for the neck can be helpful in establishing safe movement.

A progression of neck stability exercises can increase flexibility in the neck, ease neck pain, and can also reduce the chance of reinjury.

By increasing the strength of muscles that support the neck, the spine is brought into a safe position. This training of the muscles can keep you healthy by restoring optimal neck posture. Stabilization training, series of strengthening exercises, is a way to get better balance in the muscles around your neck, chest, and upper back which are helpful in supporting your neck in safe positions while you are working or when you are doing other daily activities.