Neck pain is one of the most common injuries I see as a physio, and one of the trickiest injuries to prevent from recurring.
This is largely because the main cause of neck pain is our lifestyle! And lifestyle can be hard to change...
So how can we stop neck pain being such a pain in the neck?
Try introducing some change into your life:
- Change your posture: There is no such thing as a “bad posture”. However, spending long periods in one single position, like when you are checking instagram on your phone, will cause muscle tightness and joint stiffness. Over time, this will cause neck pain. Try change your posture regularly!
- Change your pillow: Your pillow must be suited for your sleeping position and body shape. If you regularly wake up in the morning with a stiff neck, it’s time to change your pillow. There are lots of different pillows on the market, if you are unsure what is best suited for you, speak to one of our physios.
- Change your stretches: Neck pain, is commonly caused an immobile upper back (thoracic spine). Next time you are stretching a sore neck, make sure you include the upper back as well.
- Change your activity levels: The main cause of neck pain is due to our increasingly sedentary lifestyle. On average we sit 8 hours a day! Neck pain can be cured if we make an effort to make our life less convenient and move more. Next time try walking to a restaurant for dinner instead of ordering Deliveroo and watching Netflix. Or drink smaller cups of water at work so you leave your desk more often!
Change can be difficult sometimes, but living with recurring neck pain is even harder.
Why don’t you try changing just one thing from the list above and see how your neck feels?