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.
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.