Chronic Neck Pain

Combat Chronic Neck Pain With These Five Lifestyle Tweaks

/ Thomas Cohn, MD

neckChronic neck pain can certainly be the result of an acute injury, but for many Americans dealing with recurrent neck pain, some lifestyle factors are significant contributors to their chronic discomfort. Fortunately, if we can identify these habits and make a few simple tweaks to our daily life, we can usually experience some significant pain relief.

In today’s blog, we take a closer look at a few lifestyle tweaks you can make to help reduce or alleviate your chronic neck pain.

Daily Adjustments For Neck Pain

Chronic neck pain is unique to the individual, so it’s important to realize that what might work for one person may not work for another. If you want the best chance at reducing or eliminating your chronic neck pain, sync up with a pain management specialist like Dr. Cohn who can view your neck in person and provide some personalized recommendations. That said, if you want to try a couple of these lifestyle tweaks first to see how your neck pain responds, you may just find that your neck discomfort begins to feel a little better.

1. Limit Phone/Computer Use – It’s not uncommon to spend hours each day on a smartphone or computer, and oftentimes we lean our head forward when using these devices. This shifts our cervical spine out of a healthy position and increases the amount of stress the head places on the top portion of your spine. You can mind your posture, but oftentimes it’s easier to just work to reduce the amount of time you spend on these devices.

2. Posture Improvement – Phone and computer use isn’t the only time we tend to have poor posture throughout the day. Anytime we’re sitting or standing, our spine can shift out of a natural alignment if we lean forward or sink down in a chair. Strive to conduct posture awareness checks throughout the day and adjust your position so that your head is directly over your shoulders, limiting the strain on your cervical spine.

3. 5-Minute Stretches – Oftentimes our chronic neck pain is the result of static stress on muscles and soft tissues in the neck and upper shoulder region. You can work to counter this stress by gently stretching your neck for a couple of minutes a few times each day. If you’re watching television or taking a phone call, multitask and do some simple neck stretches that change how stress is dispersed on the area.

4. Invest In A Quality Pillow – Your neck spends roughly a third of its day resting on a pillow, so you need to make sure that the area is adequately supported at night. If it’s been a while since you bought a new pillow, or your current pillow has seen better days, consider buying a pillow that can better support your neck. Options that are too thin or overly stuffed will not keep your neck in the right alignment, so don’t just look for the fluffiest option!

5. Move More – Finally, make it a point to be more active throughout the day and break up extended seated periods. As we talked about in the stretching point, your neck is constantly helping to support the weight of your neck, so when you’re not mobile, stress is dispersed consistently across the same muscle groups. Over time, this static stress can lead to muscle fatigue or discomfort. Moving more often helps to relieve this static stress and changes how stress is dispersed throughout your neck, giving certain areas a reprieve. Being more active is also helpful for your whole body health, so make it a point to be more active!

If you can keep these tips in mind and you trust your in-person care to Dr. Cohn and his team, we’re confident you can successfully fight back against chronic neck pain. For more information, or for help with a different pain issue, give Dr. Cohn and his team a call today at (952) 738-4580.

Four Ways Your Lifestyle May Be Driving Your Chronic Neck Pain

/ Thomas Cohn, MD

pain neckMajor traumas get all the headlines, but for a large percent of Americans, their underlying pain condition is actually brought on by subtle stress or microtrauma experienced over months and years instead of a single instance. Because of this, many people don’t realize how their actions or their lifestyle choices are actually contributing to their pain condition. With that in mind, we wanted to use today’s blog to look at four ways your lifestyle may be fueling your chronic neck pain.

How Lifestyle Choices Are Causing Your Chronic Neck Pain

Here’s a look at four ways your lifestyle or daily actions may be contributing to your chronic neck pain.

1. Your Posture At Work Or While Driving – A lot of people spend time sitting in a car each day as they commute to a job where they’ll sit at a desk for eight hours, and if their head isn’t in the right position while they are sitting, their cervical spine will have to take on more stress. If you’re leaning back in your car seat or hunched forward at your work desk, your neck is tasked with handling the weight of your head, and it’s heavier than you may realize! The average human head weighs about 11 pounds, and that stress on your neck is amplified when your head isn’t positioned directly above your shoulders.

2. Your Sleeping Habits – If your pillow or mattress are too firm or too soft, it can push your neck and spine out of proper alignment. Consider how many hours the average person sleeps each day, it’s easy to see how an extended period in an undesirable position can be hard on your neck. Find a firm, supportive mattress and rest your head on a single pillow to make it easier for your spine to be in alignment when you sleep.

3. Your Smartphone Habits – Smartphones allow us to connect with others or look up information at the push of a button, but if we use the device for hours each day, there’s a good chance that our necks are suffering because of it. When you’re looking down at your smartphone, your neck is likely leaning forward, which as we talked about in the posture section, puts a lot of strain on your cervical spine and the muscles that help support it. Strive to have your cell phone out in front of you instead of in your lap when you’re texting or scrolling, and really make it a point to limit how much you’re on your device to help give your neck a break.

4. Your Exercise Habits – Finally, your exercise habits play a big role in the health of your neck. Aerobic exercise helps to push healthy blood to vital structures in your neck that need them to function properly, whereas inactivity contributes to muscle stiffness and atrophy. Low-impact exercises like walking or swimming are great for your neck, while living a sedentary lifestyle can lead to pain and other symptoms in your cervical spine. Just another reason to get your exercise each day!

If you’re dealing with pain or other symptoms in your neck and you want a specialist to help you get to the bottom of your discomfort, reach out to Dr. Cohn and his team today.