In this blog, we are going to discuss some more tips on how to relieve neck pain and inflammation. This is a two part blog. If you haven't read part 1 of this blog, you can read it here.
Proper use of a pillow:
When you sleep on your side without a pillow, there is a big gap between the tip of your shoulder and the side of our head. A pillow is needed to bridge this gap or else the head tilts excessively to one side. This can lead to tension or spasm in the muscles of the upper to mid cervical spine, leading to cervicogenic dizziness and headaches. To avoid the head tilt you might put your hand under the head. This manages to put the neck in a neutral state but the arm muscles and muscles of the shoulder blade are activated throughout the night and cannot relax, putting an excessive strain on them. This gradually builds up as the nights go by and may lead to other problems in the area such as upper back pain and arm/nerve pain.
When you sleep on your back without a pillow, your head tilts backwards as the back of our head is not in the same plane as the upper back. There is a little bit of a distance between these two areas, which makes the head tilt backwards. This can lead to various problems ranging from neck pain to cervicogenic dizziness due to pinching of the nerves in the back of the neck to a poor posture.
Watch this video to know how to customise the pillow to your body type to avoid neck pain and dizziness.
HERE are the pillows that I use and recommend.
Regular movement:
Take regular breaks from sitting by standing up and stretching. Our bodies are not meant for static postures, whether it is prolonged standing or prolonged sitting. Stand up and move around every 30 minutes throughout the day to reverse the effects of being seated for extended periods. This could also be as simple as shifting in your seat or shifting your weight from one side of the bottom to another, if you are in a long meeting or unable to get up from your chair. When we sit for a long time there is a lot of stresses that builds up on the disc in the spine and the surrounding structures like the nerves, muscles, ligaments etc. This can aggravate your pre existing neck conditions such as disc bulge, cervical stenosis, spinal arthritis, spinal degeneration, nerve pains, etc or it can lead to cervicogenic dizziness and headaches.
Neck stretches:
Try and incorporate some simple neck stretches into your daily routine. These can be done as simple stretches or desk based exercises. These could also count as the regular breaks that was mentioned above. Simple stretches can be in the form of shoulder rolls, side bends, and gentle twists to release tension in the cervical spine and shoulders area. These can be easily done even when you are in a meeting or a flight where you cant get up and move. They only take under 2 to 3 minutes to do. Get your free guide to desk based exercises HERE.
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