How To Reduce Neck Pain

neck painOnce you have removed the causes of neck pain that come from having forward head position which is from poor sitting posture and poor standing posture you can start to do stretches and exercises to stretch tight muscles and strengthen weak ones.  When you have neck pain that also can cause headaches, shoulder pain or tightness and tingling in the arms.  Often people turn to massage therapy, chiropractic care, acupuncture or more aggressive methods such as surgery or cortisone shots or pain medication.

How To Reduce Neck Pain – Good Sitting Posture

When you have good posture your muscles and bones are distributing weight evenly.  The lower vertebrae go into flexion when you have poor posture.  Imagine the disc in between your neck are being squeezed out improperly like a balloon.  You have ligaments trying to hold the disc in it’s proper place.

How To Reduce Neck Pain – Disc Bulges and Pinched Nerves 

If the bulging disc start to go backward there are nerves back there that will cause your neck, your shoulder and even your arms to hurt or you might feel a tingling sensation down your arm.  You need to get this disc away from the nerve so it can be in it’s proper position and alignment by pushing the disc the other direction.

How To Reduce Neck Pain – How To Eliminate Pressure From The Nerve

If you can extend the disc in the other direction then it will extend the disc to go the other direction and take pressure off the nerve.  What you will be looking for is a reduction in symtoms down your arms such as tingling.

How To Reduce Neck Pain – Stretches and Exercise To Reduce Discomfort

When you a do a move call the double chin which is when you retract your head back.  When you a do a move call the double chin which is when you tuck your chin and slowly retract your head and neck backward as far as you comfortably can and slowly return to the starting position.  Do this move every waking hour ten times.

After doing this moves repeatedly all day long you should start to notice a reduction in symtoms until you have no more symtons in your arms, shoulder or neck.

Another stretch you can to is to hold the side of your head and gently and with out forcing pull your head over to one ear.  You want to hold this for ten seconds.  Then you will do this for the other side as well.  Then you will want to stretch your head forward and then diagonally and to the side.

Another exercise is to slowly tuck your chin in and slowly make small 10 circles with your chin without tilting your head.  Do ten circles clockwise and then ten circles counterclockwise.

How To Reduce Neck Pain – Proper Sleeping Positions

You want to make sure that you are sleeping on your back or on your side but you should not be sleeping on your stomach.  If you sleep on your side you need to make sure your head is level with the rest of you spine.  If you have a specially designed cervical pillow then the pillow will assure your neck is properly supported.

Sleeping on your stomach is the worst position for your neck since it compromises proper alignment and the neck won’t be supported properly.  You’ll also ending up stressing your lumbar spine as well by sleeping on your stomach.

How To Reduce Neck Pain – Summary

So to reduce neck pain this is what you need to do.

  • Have correct posture when sitting for prolonged periods at a time such as when working at a computer
  • Avoid having a forward head and slouch posture while sitting.  Try to sit up instead of sitting down.
  • Do the double chin protraction move several times throughout the day
  • Slowly do the chin tuck head circles throughout the day.
  • Slowly move your body while working at the computer.  Wiggle your hips, slowly rotate your shoulders, make circles with wrists and ankles, etc.