Do you know why people in this 21st century suffer from constant neck pain? Yes, it’s mostly because of the smartphones they carry 24/7 in their hands. People are now more interacting with electronic devices than each other. Gazing down at the phone constantly can lead to muscular pain and impacts the soft tissues around your neck which can further lead to constant neck pain.
Not only this, but your sleeping posture can also play a strong character in this too. You sleeping without the right pillow can cause severe pain to your neck, and you’ll wake up with a stiff neck.
Most of the people just don’t pay attention to what they are going through when taking stress. Stress and anxiety can physically affect the muscles of your neck. While taking stress, your neck muscles tighten up and lead to neck pain. 7 out of 10 people suffer from neck pain due to unlimited stress.
Living with constant neck pain isn’t easy in a busy routine. Performing a task with severe neck pain can be challenging. You can’t efficiently work if your neck doesn’t move about well. But, to overcome this constant pain, many people from around the globe now visit chiropractors. A chiropractor is someone who treats a patient through adjustment and manipulation of the spine. There are some famous chiropractors in Singapore, Malaysia, and Australia you can always visit.
But what if you can’t afford it? Well, what you can do is, you can go through the following 5 easy tips and stick with them to attain quick relief from constant neck pain.
- KNOW YOUR SLEEPING POSITION
Feeling pain and stiffness in your neck early morning? Well, then you should pay attention to your sleeping posture. The way you sleep, the pillow you keep and what side you sleep on, has a great impact on your neck somehow.
There are particularly two main postures for sleeping a good sound sleep. One, on your side and the other, on your back. While when you sleep on your stomach, your neck not mostly but always turns on the other side, which contributes to stiffness. Not only this, but it can also affect your back too.
Catching some Z’s with a soft or a feather pillow may help you ease your neck while you’re asleep. High pillows can bother your neck and keep it stretched overnight, which causes pain. Avoid using high pillows or too many pillows under your head.
- LIMIT YOUR SCREEN TIME
Many of you must have video games, smartphones, and of course, TV at your houses. Watching TV and playing video games are one of the leading reasons why the bulk of youngsters these days suffer from back and neck pain. The constant use of anything, no matter what it is, is dangerous.
Avoid spending too much time on screen, especially when sitting on a low support chair. It can cause your neck to rest in a straining position for long.
Once you are done using the smartphone or playing video games, give your neck a fine stretch so that your muscles could relax and come to an easy position.
Less screen time means fewer chances of any type of neck soreness.
- EXERCISE!!
Exercise is a must. Not only have your other parts of the body needed exercise but your neck too. Exercise helps your neck muscles to expand and becomes more limber which also reduces any type of back, arms or shoulder pain.
At present, what exercises to do? If you have a tense neck, all you need to do is tilt your neck forward, backward, and side by side gently. Tilt your chin downwards to the chest at least for 20 seconds and then slowly bring it back to its original position. In the same way, angle your face towards the ceiling and bring it to rest after 15 seconds. While doing this, if you feel any kind of pain rather than pressure, feel free to stop right away.
Some of you may be familiar with the shoulder exercise. Roll your shoulders in a circular motion (forward) 5-10 times. Repeat the same steps (backward) at least two to three times. Rolling your shoulder helps reduce shoulder pain as well as neck soreness.
- GET YOURSELF A SUPPORTING AND COMFORTABLE CHAIR
Office going people spend most of their time posturing on a desk. And office chairs are not always comfortable or neck-supportive, which can cause trouble to your neck. People with a desk job commonly complain about the pain in their back and neck.
An ergonomic chair reduces neck pain caused by posturing on a desk for long with a forward head posture. The best way to overcome this problem, use a headrest and backrest office chair. The chair saves you from the frustrating neck, back, and other body aches. It keeps your back straight and your neck supported. But of course, a chair won’t help completely. You need to get yourself up and walk around at least every hour or 30 minutes. Don’t just sit on a relaxing chair for straight 5 hours.
- TAKE CARE WHILE DRIVING
When you are holding your arms in a straight position for long or your head, the tension created while then results in neck pain. As mentioned before, your sitting posture plays a significant role in constant neck pain.
Driving for a long period can give your neck a tough time. To avoid neck pain while driving, here are some further tips.
Driving posture: Set your car seat at an angle where your arms can easily hit the steering wheel, and your back should be straight. You can adjust the headrest accordingly, where you find it comfortable for your neck. Giving support to your head is important.
Take a break and stretch: Don’t keep driving continuously for a long period. Take a timeout and stand to stretch your muscles and give them a rest. Driving continuously for hours can lead to stress and results in neck pain.
It’s okay to pull over to take the strain off the muscles and be kind to your neck.
CONCLUSION
Constant neck pain is now experienced by several people from around the world. Not only adults but also children are today suffering from neck soreness. It is due to the smartphones they look down at all the time. Not only this but your sleeping and sitting position, stress, anxiety, and driving posture contribute a lot in constant neck pain. To avoid the pain, you can refer yourself to a chiropractor or follow the upper mentioned tips.
Don’t forget to exercise daily and limit your screen time to save yourself a huge amount of pain.