You probably don't think about how much you turn your neck. However, if you are experiencing neck pain, you start to notice immediately. Here are some tips for reducing neck pain so that you can go about your life and enjoy it, rather than focus on turning your neck as little as possible at all times.
1. Stay Hydrated
The first thing that you want to do is purchase a water bottle if you don't already have one. Commit to sipping on it throughout the day. The reason for this is that in order to maintain the disc height and alignment of your spine, your body, specifically your vertebrae, needs to have water. Staying hydrated at all times can help you maintain reduce any further cervical disc degeneration, which will help you reduce the amount of neck pain that you might feel overall.
2. Swim to Reduce Stiffness
Stretching your neck while you are experiencing neck pain can be very uncomfortable. However, if you do it in the pool, you can get rid of the stiffness that is exacerbating your neck pain and allow yourself to get a little bit of relief. In order to stretch your neck while you are in the pool, get into the water so that you are submerged up to your chin. From there, you can stretch your neck by simply moving around at this depth, or by moving left and right while keeping your body forwards. Going into a hot tub up to your neck can also help greatly reduce the amount of stiffness that you might be experiencing and therefore help reduce your neck pain.
3. Get a Good Chair
Finally, be sure that you get a chair with a headrest that will allow you to maintain a proper amount of posture while you are working at your computer. This can help you manage your neck pain while you are working, as well as prevent your neck pain from getting any worse.
4. Consider Acupuncture
Acupuncture can help you relax your neck and reduce overall pain by massaging your deep tissue. You may need several sessions before the pain has totally subsided.
For more information, talk to your doctor about your neck pain. He or she might be able to recommend an ergonomic chair, a physical therapist at a place like Physical Therapy at ACAC, or an acupuncture specialist that will help you manage your pain, as well as medications that you can try.
