A lot of people who are suffering from chronic neck pain struggle to get relief, and it can have a terrible impact on their whole lives, making it harder for them to live, love and work. If you’re in that position, don’t despair! It might be that you simply haven’t found the right pain management technique to soothe your pain. Check out these treatments and tips that other sufferers of chronic neck pain have found useful and see if they work for you:
See a Chiropractor
If you haven’t already, I would highly recommend that you book an appointment with a qualified chiropractor like the ones at Liberty Wellness & Chiro. So many people have found pain relief from adjustments they make, that is certainly an avenue worth pursuing.
Staying Hydrated
Some chronic neck pain sufferers have found that staying on top of their hydration levels has helped immensely. In many ways, this is not so surprising because the dislocated between your spine’s vertebrae need water to maintain alignment, which means drinking plenty of water could take the pressure off your neck and diminish your pain.
Swim
A lot of neck pain sufferers have also noticed that their pain symptoms are fewer after they have taken a dip in the pool. So, visit the local pool more often and make sure that you swim in water that is warm, and gets up to chin level. Be careful to swim gently though, as too vigorous a stroke could hurt your neck even more, which is defeating the objective.
Try Acupuncture
Many people dismiss acupuncture as unscientific and a waste of money and, although it’s true that scientific evidence is not as good as it perhaps should be in a lot of cases, anecdotally a lot of people suffering from chronic pain, including neck pain, have found relief with the ancient Chinese practice, which makes it worth a try. Just ensure that you see a professional like the ones at Kyung Hee Acupuncture and Herbs. It takes a skilled hand to make a difference.
Support Your Neck
Making simple changes like investing in neck supporting chairs and pillows, and not craning your neck to talk on the phone, will all help your neck and spine to get stronger and avoid stresses and strains which could put more pressure on the area, causing even more pain.
When you’re traveling, you might find that you have trouble sleeping without your neck hurting. To get more comfortable, TruRest helps you get a better sleep while traveling. The inventor Chloe Hill explained how the device works in that interview!
Try Ice Therapy (Not on the Neck)
If you’ve tried ice therapy to no avail, try placing that ice pack on your head, behind the ears or between your brows instead. Sometimes neck pain stems from a different part of the body completely than what you would expect and doing this could bring you some relief. Again, it might be worth a try.
Supplement with Magnesium
If your neck pain was caused by a muscle sprain, supplementing your diet with magnesium could help because this mineral is known to help muscles to contract and relax, taking the pressure off. Before trying any of these ideas, please check with your doctor or physical therapist first.
Top photo credit: Photo by Aldan Jones, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr.
Magnesium helped a lot with my chronic neck pain, and all sorts of other muscle pains and cramps I was dealing with. Apparently being deficient causes things like that! I had no idea.
Thank you Richard for sharing your experience with magnesium helping you with muscle pains and cramps. Readers will benefit from your testimony!
Some great tips here, Christy. I suffer a lot from neck pain due to tension. I go to physio which helps me a lot and I also do pilates.
You’re so welcome and I’m glad you found the info useful, Robbie. Also, your post on Indie authors means a lot to many of us <3
Good tips, Christy!
My neck is killing as I read this. Thanks for this timely post Dr. Christy. :) <3
You’ve made some interesting suggestions, Christy. Thanks – a few new ones to try.
Thank you so much for the ideas.. Great tips..
You know when you are travelling a lot and need to sleep in awkward head positions? Do those neck pillows help ease the pain? Or are they actually good for the neck?
Great tips, Christy! I’ve been taking magnesium supplements for years for headaches…perhaps that’s why my neck never hurts. :)
Some great tips, I suffer from neck pain after carrying three children so I will definitely try these heavenly tips.:)
I once had a whiplash neck injury after someone ran into the back of the car. It was torture. I remember feeling like my neck belonged to a giraffe every morning and I could not get it off the pillow.
Christy, I see a chiropractor every two weeks, otherwise, the neck pain would be unbearable. Its the only manipulation that helps me. Tried massage before, which was fine, but would not last more than a day. Thank you for spreading the word.
Christy,
You are really live encyclopedia . You are really helpful for all people on the net. Thank you
Good ideas, Christy. Neck pain plagues so many of us who have to sit at the computer all day. Years ago I had a trusted chiropractor — he worked wonders for my headaches, neck, and back. (Then the next one was outright dangerous…) Anyway, I do a lot of stretching exercises related to yoga, and at night I sleep on an ergonomic pillow. Those things have helped me. Have a thriving Thursday!