Combat Chronic Neck Pain With These Five Lifestyle Tweaks

August 10, 2023 / Thomas Cohn, MD

neck Chronic 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.

Five Red Flags That You Should See A Neck Pain Specialist

October 13, 2021 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Neck pain can be, well, a real pain in the neck! But how do you know if your neck pain is serious or something that will go away on its own with a little rest? In today’s blog, we take a closer look at five red flags that suggest you should see a neck pain specialist for your neck discomfort.

Neck Pain Red Flags

If you’re experiencing any of the following sensations, or any of the following statements are true, it’s time that you connect with a neck pain specialist like Dr. Cohn to get to the bottom of your pain and start a treatment regimen.

1. Severe Pain – The most obvious sign that you need to seek professional help for your neck pain is if it is severe in nature. If movements bring crippling pain, or you’re in constant pain throughout the day because of your neck, don’t delay. Set up an appointment with a pain management specialist right away.

2. Limited Range Of Motion – You may not have severe pain, but if your neck discomfort is limiting your ability to turn your neck in different directions, you’re avoiding certain movements because you know they will hurt, or you’ve lost your normal range of motion because of your pain, it’s a sign that you need medical intervention. Contact a back and neck specialist to help restore this lost flexibility.

3. Inhibited Gait Or Balance – You might be amazed to learn how much your neck affects your ability to walk normally and maintain your balance. If a shifted cervical disc is pinching a spinal nerve, you may find it hard to walk normally or keep your balance. If you’re walking differently because of neck pain, or you’re finding it harder to keep your balance, sync up with a pain management specialist.

4. Extremity Discomfort or Numbness – Your spinal nerves travel down your body and to your arms and legs, so if a nerve is damaged in the neck region, it can lead to symptoms in your arms and legs. If your hands are going numb when you’re seated or there is a shooting pain down your leg when you walk, have a pain specialist find the source of the nerve impingement and work to correct it.

5. Your Quality Of Life/Independence Is Decreasing – Finally, if you find that you’re not doing all the activities that you once loved because of your neck pain, or your discomfort is restricting your independence, it’s a clear sign that you need medical assistance. Don’t let neck pain dictate your life. Treat the problem head on, regain your independence and achieve that higher quality of life that you deserve.

For more information, or for help with your neck pain, reach out to Dr. Cohn’s office today.

Texting May Be Causing Your Neck Pain

December 5, 2014 / Thomas Cohn, MD

As more and more people are becoming glued to their smartphones, medical professionals are warning people about a new condition called “text neck.”

If you’re at school or the breakroom at work it probably doesn’t take long to see more than a few individuals hunched over their cellphone. Responding to texts and sending that work email are important tasks, but you may be jeopardizing your neck health if you hunch your head down while typing away.

“It isn’t the best for our posture,” said Linda Scholl, a University of Utah physical therapist. “It’s not correct posture, but kind of leaning forward.”

Dr. Kenneth Hansraj, a spine surgeon in New York, coined the condition “text neck.” He says the condition is caused by tilting a your head down while staring at your smartphone. According to Dr. Hansraj, teens are especially at risk, as some teens have spent an additional 5,000 hours on their phone compared to older adults.

Scholl agrees, saying teens and colleges students are spending more time than ever buried in their smartphones.

“People are spending more time leaning forward, paying attention to what’s in front of them, instead of having their posture upright and looking at the world around them,” Scholl said.

Scholl noted that people have hunched their heads in the past – be it by reading books or working at their desks – but these activities rarely cause a person’s neck to be in a poor position for such a long duration.

Text Neck Pain

Scholl went on to discuss just how much pressure you can put on your neck by tilting it forward. According to her, the human head weights about 12 pounds, and the farther forward you lean, the more weight is placed on the cervical spine. Once your tilt reaches 60 degrees, “you have about 60 pounds worth of pressure going through your spine. So that soft tissue has to hold the weight of the head in this forward position.”

In addition to neck issues, poor head position can lead to other side effects like reduced lung capacity, neurological problems and heart disease.

Preventing Text Neck

Text neck is a serious problem, but it can be prevented pretty easily. Follow these tips to avoid neck problems while texting.

Mentally note where your neck location is every time you use your phone. When using your phone, try to keep it out in front of you. If it’s in your lap, you’re going to need to lean forward to use it.

Regularly stretch and exercise your neck. Rotate your shoulders and neck at regular intervals.

Don’t be glued to your cell phone. Sure, sometimes it’s very necessary to be on your phone, but the more you’re on it, the more likely you are to subconsciously slip into a poor posture.

If you suffer from neck pain, take a close look at your cell phone use. You may be doing harm without even realizing it!

Related source: Deseret News

What Types of Patients Do Pain Doctors Treat?

July 14, 2014May 10, 2016 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Finding the right care for each individual patient who is dealing with chronic pain can be difficult. If a patient has ongoing difficulties with pain symptoms, additional medical expertise is often helpful with symptom management. The comprehensive Pain Care program at CDI is designed to help manage these complex and difficult problems.

Pain Management at CDI

The Pain Care program at CDI will see any patient who has ongoing problems with pain. The program is run by a Board Certified Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation specialists with subspecialty training in Pain. We are available to help evaluate and diagnose medical problems that are causing ongoing pain symptoms in any region of the body. Common problems that we usually see include patients with:

neck pain
headaches
joint pain
neuropathy
low back pain
mid back pain
multilevel pain problems.

The goal is to develop an individualized comprehensive treatment plan to better control symptoms on a conservative basis. Early management of pain problems often leads to solutions that completely solve the issues.

Treating Pain Problems

A typical low back pain patient may have muscles strains, disc issues, nerve irritation, lumbar facet joint pain, or even pelvic problems. A comprehensive evaluation and examination often leads to an appropriate diagnosis and a number of treatment options. A Physiatrist can work with a patient to complete further testing, and if necessary, assist with physical therapy, medication, and interventions to overcome the medical problems causing low back pain. Muscle strains for instance may only need physical therapy and appropriate short-term medications. Lumbar facet joint problems cause axial low back pain and may benefit from a combination of injections, radio-frequency neurolysis/lesioning, and physical therapy. Depending on the diagnosis, a comprehensive treatment plan with the available options for management can be discussed and implemented with the patient.

Neck pain issues often cause headaches and can be treated with a number of conservative interventions. The Pain Care team can help diagnose and develop a comprehensive management strategy. One common problem causing headaches is irritation of the cervical facets, and this often occurs after trauma, especially motor vehicle accidents. This pain is often known as a whiplash injury. It often resolves with conservative physical therapy and short-term medication, but about 10% of cases require more intense intervention. These patients are often helped with injections and sometimes radio-frequency lesioning of nerves in the neck. Successful management often cures the problems for a prolonged time.

Pain is a complex problems, and every patient is unique with their own set of important issues. If all the answers were obvious, there would be no need for our services. Unfortunately, pain is the most common problem bringing a patient to the doctor’s office. When it does not resolve in short period of time, having the skills of a specialist is often extremely beneficial. There is not one solution, one medication, one shot, or one specific intervention that is right for every patient. Pain Care is designed to integrate and coordinate our skills into the community to treat these challenging patients with their current care team.

Pain management is not a new field. At CDI we have recognized the need to provide a more comprehensive service to help with the management of these complex and difficult patients. With a comprehensive approach to the evaluation and management of these patients by a Physiatrist, we hope to bring a successful approach to resolving these difficult problems within the community. At CDI we hope to partner with a community of physicians to better serve these patients and their providers.

Neck Pain – Nerve Irritation, Whiplash, & Muscle Spasms

January 15, 2014June 24, 2014 / Thomas Cohn, MD

This is part two of our blog mini-series on Neck Pain. You can find the first installment here. Our first post focused on chronic neck pain causes and treatments at a general level. c

Nerve Irritation

Cervical discs in the neck that cause nerve irritation can have both axial pain or pain in the arms. MRI or CT scans are necessary to see these structures and determine the severity of the changes. If the changes have been slow degeneration, the body can often adapt to them even if there is severe narrowing where the nerves travel. Treatment often includes cervical epidural steroid injections to calm spine irritation and inflammation. Controlling nerve sensitivity can be helped by medications known as neuropathics that include some seizure drugs and antidepressants. Physical therapy and behavioral health interventions are also beneficial.

Whiplash

Whiplash and cervical facets cause pain from abnormal movement or sensitivity of the joints between each of the cervical vertebra. Patterns of pain from these joints are fairly specific, and are mostly along the spine from the base of the skull, out to the shoulders, and down through the shoulder blades. Treatment ranges from heat and ice, massage, manipulation, acupuncture, anti-inflammatory medications, traction and physical therapy, to injections. Most pain responds to simple things, about 5-10 percent need the more complex treatment such as steroid injections, nerve blocks, and radiofrequency lesioning to prevent pain feedback from the joints.

Muscle Spasms

Muscle spasms of the neck can be primary problems, or secondary to a deeper problem in the spine. If the spasms are chronic, it is more likely they are due to a deeper structure like the facets or discs, and treating those problems will significantly improve the spasms. At times, spasms continue despite treating all other problems and pain is chronic. For this type of problem, chronic use of muscle relaxers along with therapy is often necessary. Botox, which is a medication that is injected into the muscle to partly paralyze it for several months, is also helpful.

Neck pain that is chronic and ongoing is a difficult problem to treat due to its many causes. A Physical Medicine pain specialist can be especially helpful in the diagnosis and management of the problem. They often can determine all the factors that are contributing to ongoing issues and develop a comprehensive strategy to manage the symptoms. Treatment often is not simple, but working with an experienced specialist can help with a successful long-term solution to a frustrating problem.