How chronic is your neck pain?

Stiff, sore necks are no longer the exclusive domain of the office worker- with a cell phone in seemingly everyone’s hand, neck pain is more prevalent than ever. To make things even worse, forward head syndrome is more pervasive than ever: the way we interact with every electronic device often involves us subconsciously holding our heads forward and increasing the amount of downward pressure on our spines. In summation, our jobs, habits and recreational activites are putting a serious pain in our neck. So what are we to do?

Healthy habits 101: stop ignoring your neck pain

Chances are you can’t simply stop working in front of your computer; chances are also good that you won’t want to give up cell phone time or stop binge watching your favorite netflix show. Aside from limiting screen time, we also need to be proactive about taking care of our necks and the two primary ways we do that are through exercise and posture. A great way to start taking better care of your neck is to stop ignoring the pain! Pain and stiffness are two signals that tell you things aren’t right at a given point in the body. 

A real healthy habit: stretch your neck every night 

It doesn’t have to take long- 5 minutes at most. Just enough time to perform two simple stretches that will relieve tension in the soft tissues of the neck and improve circulation to help your cells heal.

• Start by sitting up in a chair or on the ground in neutral posture. Clasp your two hands behind your neck and gently push forward, tucking your chin in toward your chest until you feel a good stretch. Hold 5-10 seconds. Repeat 3-5 times.
• Start in the same position, but extend your right arm down to your side for balance. With your left hand, reach over your head and gently pull your head to the left, tucking your ear down toward your shoulder until you feel a good stretch. Hold 5-10 seconds. Repeat 3-5 times.

Chiropractic helps you solve neck pain 

The last step in solving your chronic neck pain is paying a visit to your chiropractor. We will reset the natural alignment of your cervical vertebrae to ensure your spinal joints retain full range of motion. If you are interested in using our natural modalities to restore function to your neck while simultaneously reducing pain, give our office in Fremont a call to schedule an appointment today.