If you have ever woken to find the room spinning, not from a wild night out, but from simple sleep posture, you’re not alone. For many, the way you sleep can significantly influence your day—especially when it comes to cervical vertigo or dizziness. As an executive and a mum to young kids, understanding these connections is crucial for your holistic health. In this blog, lets discuss three actionable sleeping tips that can help you rest easy without risking a dizzying start to your morning ...
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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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Whether its keeping up with work demands or chasing after young children, executive mums have their hands full. Amidst this active lifestyle, experiencing dizziness can be both distressing and disruptive. Known as Cervicogenic Dizziness or Cervical Vertigo, this condition stems from issues in the neck. Managing cervical vertigo requires a dual approach—seeking medical advice and adapting lifestyle strategies. In this blog lets discuss these simple strategies for busy mums to keep dizziness at bay and reduce the likelihood of Cervicogenic Dizziness ...
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Imagine the scene – it's the height of the morning rush, you're in the middle of a bustling meeting, and all of a sudden, a wave of dizziness hits you. It's a startling moment for anyone, an intrusive pause in the flow of life. For executive moms who are expertly choreographing a life that involves multiple schedules, a bout of unexplained dizziness can be particularly disquieting. And, while it might be easy to brush it off as a passing sensation, it is vital to pause and consider the underlying cause. Dizziness is not just a disorder experienced by the elderly; it can affect individuals across various age groups. In this blog lets discuss one of the lesser known forms of vertigo: cervicogenic dizziness ...
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Are you experiencing recurring headaches that seem to originate from the neck area? If so, you might be dealing with a cervicogenic headache. Although it can be quite bothersome, understanding its symptoms can help you identify and address the issue effectively. In this blog, lets discuss how can you know if you are suffering from a Cervicogenic or Cervical Headache.
Our cervical spine is made up of seven vertebra that can be roughly divided into an upper and lower portion. Between every two vertebra there are nerves exiting the spine on the right and left. These nerves supply different parts of the body. When the upper to mid cervical spine is affected and this irritates the nerves in the area it can manifest as a cervicogenic headache.
Cervicogenic headaches have some typical characteristics that can help you to determine if your headache is originating in the neck or the Cervical spine. Here are some common signs to look out for:
1. Pain can be dull, achy or sharp, depending on the fibres of the nerves that are being compressed. The symptoms of Cervicogenic headache; ie, nerve pain can vary from person to person or even from one episode of pain to the other.
2. The headache usually starts as a stiffness or pain in the upper part of the neck and goes up from the back to the top of the head. It can also spread to the side of the head, temple and behind the eye. Sometimes it can also be felt as pain or pulling sensation at the back of the eyes and the TMJ or jaw joint due to the tightness or spasm in the muscles around the cheek and the TMJ.
3. Cervicogenic headaches manifests as pain on one side of the head as it is dependent on the nerve that is being compressed on that side of the neck. It does not move from one side of the head to the other, unlike a tension headache that is usually felt on the full forehead or a migraine headache which is more diffuse and is felt like a pounding pain over the whole head. Cervicogenic headaches can be double sided if nerves on both sides of the neck are involved but the two sides are usually independent of each other and symptoms and severity on both sides can differ.
4.Neck pain and stiffness maybe associated with cervicogenic headaches. You might experience discomfort, tightness, or reduced range of motion in your neck. This is especially evident as you look over your shoulder when driving or turning your head to look behind you or when you tilt your head to your shoulder.
5. Cervicogenic headaches can be triggered by specific movements or positions, such as rotating or sudden jerking motions, as well as maintaining a static position for an extended time.
6. Factors that aggravate or increase the neck pain such as poor posture, prolonged sitting at desks or repetitive movements of the neck, physical stress that leads to shoulder stiffness will tend to increase the headache and those that relieve the neck pain such as hot or cold packs, exercise, TENS machine will reduce the headache too.
Poor postures are a very common cause of Cervicogenic Headaches and Neck Pain, specially for those who spend long time sitting at their desk or work with computers. HERE is a free guide on "How to maintain a good posture while working from home"
Get the course on "Simple Solutions to Manage your Cervicogenic Headache" HERE. This course offers practical, easy-to-implement proven strategies that actually work and have helped countless people to overcome their pain, regain energy, and fully engage with their families and careers.
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I would love to see you around the internet! For other places you can explore more about me: https://withswati.com/page/link
