If you experience a stiff neck, it can have a profound impact on the simplest tasks including sleeping, standing up, exercising, working, turning your head and more. Patients visit our Lincoln Park chiropractors wondering how they got a stiff neck in the first place. Stiff necks usually stem from muscles that weaken over time due to either poor posture or misuse. For example, if you stare at a computer all day for work, looking down at your monitor can cause your neck joints to become overstretched. Here are some tips on how you can find relief.
Gentle Stretching
To avoid developing neck pain, take frequent breaks from daily tasks that may strain your neck, such as working or driving in your car. Stretching and neck manipulation such as rolling your shoulders backward, squeezing your shoulder blades together, or bring your ear to your shoulder.
Pay Attention to Sleep Positions
For your neck health, you should always sleep on your side or on your back. Sleeping on your stomach may cause you to twist your head one way and then another. This can be damaging because your body doesn’t have the support it needs.
Other Tips
If you injured your neck, apply ice for the first 2-3 days after injury, then use heat. Make sure that you do not fall asleep while you are icing or heating your neck. Avoid jerking movements, as they will be painful. You can also set up an appointment with one of our Lincoln Park chiropractors!
What are your favorite ways to help your neck pain?
