Browsing Category: "Neck Pain"

Relieve Your Neck Pain with Yoga

Tuesday, January 1st, 2008 | Neck Pain with 1 Comment

Relieve Your Neck Pain with Yoga
By Michael Russell

Everyone gets a little stiff neck once in a while, and yoga can wipe away the pain with a few concentrated exercises. First, though, you must be certain the pain isn’t related to something more serious than a simple stiff neck. Instead of yoga, see a doctor if any one of the following is true:

- You neck pain has persisted for more than three days, or it keeps coming back.

- Your neck pain is accompanied by dizziness or nausea.

- The pain seems to radiate down into your arms or legs.

- The pain began with a fall or accident.

If your stiff neck does NOT meet any of the above conditions, these simple yoga exercises can help increase your neck’s flexibility and strengthen the neck muscles. By exercising you speed blood and needed nutrients to the area, easing the neck pain gradually. Try these:

Neck Stretches

Sitting cross-legged, tall and straight, and inhale eyes forward. Exhale, moving chin to chest. Repeat this breath five times, the fifth time holding chin to chest breathing three times through the nose. Inhale, raising the head to center again. This time drop your right ear to your right shoulder during the exhale. Repeat this breath five times, the fifth time holding ear to shoulder for three breaths. Repeat this sequence with the left ear to left shoulder.

Half-Circle Rolls

Drop your chin to your chest. Slowly roll it up to your right shoulder, down to center, up to the left shoulder and down to center. Repeat this three to five times. Never roll the head in a full circle, as this can cause damage.

Shoulder Hunches

Hunch your shoulders up as high as you can, then relax them completely. Repeat five to six times. Next roll your shoulders in forward circles five to six times, then backward circles five to six times. Notice how relaxed your shoulders feel. Try this quick relaxation exercise any time you feel tension building.

Chest Expander

Stand with your feet together and your fingers interlaced behind your back. Inhale while raising your hands behind your back, squeezing your shoulder blades together and tucking your tailbone under to keep from over-arching your back. Hold this position for three to four breaths, then lower your arms slowly during the next exhale.

Arm Lifts

Hold your arms straight out in front of you, parallel to the ground with palms facing each other but not touching. Inhale while bringing them up next to your head. Exhale while you bring them down again. Repeat this four to eight times.

Press It

Place either palm on the back of your head. Simultaneously press the head and hand against each other for a count of ten. Move the palm to the forehead and repeat the pressing for another count of ten. Now place the right palm against the right side of your head and press head and hand together for a count of ten. Repeat with the left palm and left side of the head.

These yoga exercises are designed to relieve physical stress and related pain. The best pain relief is pain prevention, so be sure to watch your posture and set your workspace to avoid slouching.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Yoga

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How to Relieve Neck Pain With Air Neck Traction

Saturday, December 29th, 2007 | Neck Pain with 1 Comment

How to Relieve Neck Pain With Air Neck Traction
By Jason Vandijk

Are you suffering from neck and shoulder pain? You are not alone. Millions of people are suffering from neck pain due to bad posture, car accident and degenerative changes of the disc. Neck pain is almost as common as back pain in the United States. The number of neck pain sufferers is staggering and appears to be rising. Between 38 and 50 percent of adults have neck pain.

Causes of Neck Pain

Pain in the neck can be triggered by pinched nerves, neck spasm, stress, trauma, injury, prolonged bad posture, etc. The pain can range from very mild discomfort to severe, burning pain.

Whiplash

Whiplash is a neck injury that most often happens to drivers who are hit unexpectedly from behind by another car. Most of these injuries are short term, but 10% of whiplash sufferers will have long term pain. The pain can be so severe that sufferers can not work or enjoy a normal lifestyle. Disc Degeneration Disc degeneration is a common cause of neck pain and most likely appears by middle age. As we age, the degenerative changes of the discs and facet joints of the cervical spine cause neck pain, usually felt as a stiff neck.

Due to many years of wear and tear, the discs become thinner and this causes the spaces between the vertebrae to become narrower. If the nerves in the cervical area are becoming irritated or pinched, this may lead to numbness or tingling in the neck and shoulders.

Stress and TensionPeople who sit for long periods bending their head build up stress in the cervical spine causing neck pain. The muscles at the back of your neck must always be tensed to avoid your head falling forwards when you are sitting. Most common example is a computer job. The combination of stress and bad postures causes neck spasm. In most cases this type of neck pain can be reduced or eliminated by adjusting the computer position and changing some work habits. How to treat neck pain? 

There are many ways to treat neck pain. You can use at-home remedies, physical therapy or alternative treatments like seeing a chiropractor and acupuncturist. It is important to find a certified professional who can analyze the cause of your neck problem first. For severe acute neck pain resulting from an accident or injury, doctors usually recommend bed rest, a neck brace or collar, and cold treatment (such as an ice pack) for neck pain relief.

What is Neck Traction?A common neck pain treatment by chiropractors is neck traction. This is commonly performed to help relieve muscle spasms in the neck and shoulders, and to help relieve the pain of pinched nerves in the neck.During the Cervical traction the weight of the head is gently lifted off the neck anatomy and may temporarily decompress pinched nerve roots and result in reduction of herniated intervertebral disk. Visiting a chiropractor is the best way to get useful “adjustments” to the spine.After the treatment you can obtain a neck traction device for home use. Some chiropractors may hesitate getting the traction device for you fearing it would result in the loss of your business.

Keep visiting your chiropractor after you have received a home traction device. The chiropractic adjustment is still beneficial and a chiropractor can answer your questions about the use of the device.

Neck Traction by Air an effective and affordable device is the inflatable device. Unlike over-the-door traction device the ChiSoft neck traction device does not us a bag of water. Just place it around your neck and pump the inflation bulb until you feel a comfortable stretch. Once the air traction device is filled up with air, it will lift the weight of the head while gently stretching your tight muscles, and relieving joint and nerve pressure. Start at lower tensions to be certain the treatment does not increase your discomfort level significantly. Start with one traction session per day in mid-afternoon or evening. Proceed to two sessions per day, one in mid-afternoon and one just before bedtime.Air neck traction units are very portable and can be used almost anywhere. The simplicity of the design makes it the ideal tool for home or office use.

The author is a freelance contributor and editor of the Beauty and Fitness information portal which reports on the latest Beauty, Fitness and Relaxation Therapies promoting natural detoxification and healing benefits.

To learn more about neck pain treatment or Neck Traction, feel free to visit Chi Activate

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Top Tips To Treat Neck Pain

Tuesday, December 25th, 2007 | Neck Pain with 1 Comment

Top Tips To Treat Neck Pain By Raymond Geok Seng Lee

The neck bones are a continuation of the spine. The top seven vertebrae are called cervical or neck vertebrae. The seventh one makes the prominent bump that you can feel where your back joins your neck. The upper-most vertebrae, the Atlas, holds up the skull. The second vertebrae, the Axis, has a vertical peg around which the head turns. The entire neck is more flexible than the back. It bears less weight but also is less well protected by thick muscles. The disc spaces in the neck can get narrow, bony spurs can form, and nerves can get caught and compressed, just as in the low back. Arthritis such as spondylitis or rheumatoid arthritis can affect the neck, and rheumatoid arthritis is particularly likely to affect the top two vertebrae, allowing the head to slip forward and backward.

Excess tension in the neck muscles can cause neck pain as well, and is probably the most common cause of neck pain. Here the pull on the ends of the ligaments causes pain in the back of the head where the neck attaches to the skull, and this pain can often shoot forward and be interpreted as a headache.

Usually, as in the low back, a neck problem is minor and will be self-limited; however, injuries do take some time to heal. Healing depends on natural healing processes. Excessive neck movement tends to slow the healing and has the possibility of causing re-injury.

Rest the neck and listen for what the pain message tells you not to do. You can fold a bath towel lengthwise so that it is a four-inch-wide strip, and wrap the neck with it, securing it comfortably with a safety pin or tape. Now you have a soft neck brace to wear at night, and this will clear up nearly half of all neck pain problems. If pain persists, use the soft collar during the day as well or buy a commercial soft collar to wear. You want some support from the collar, but more than that you want a little reminder not to turn your head too far or too fast.

Common sense says to watch out for things that aggravate the pain and to avoid them. Watching a tennis match is obviously not a good idea because of the repeated head turning required. You probably engage in other activities that require head turning and are just as damaging. For example, some people get help by wearing their glasses while reading because this enables them to be farther away from the book. Try to sit back farther from your work. Don’t reach or look over your head to get objects; use a stool.

Keep painkillers and muscle relaxants to a minimum or avoid them altogether. Aspirin, acetaminophen, or ibuprofen is all right but probably won’t make you feel better.

Sleep on a good firm mattress. Don’t sleep on your stomach, and if you sleep on your side, place a pillow so that your neck is in a neutral position, not propped up or hanging down. When sleeping on your back, use a small pillow, and place it beneath your neck as well as your head.

The time for exercise begins as the pain subsides, usually after five to seven days. Don’t rush. There are two types of exercises, stretching and strengthening, and you should do some of each. They are designed to help prevent recurrence. Start stretching exercises with gentle stretches and increase the stretches slowly, day by day. There are three maneuvers: chin toward chest, ear toward shoulder, and looking to the side. The last two should, of course, be done in each direction. Do them twice daily, each maneuver three times gently.

Strengthening exercises can begin at the same time and should start with three repetitions, twice daily. Slowly work up to ten repetitions. If you have been having recurrent neck problems, these exercises are a worth-while lifetime habit. Here are three:

1. (Shoulder shrug) Raise both shoulders towards ears, hold for two seconds, relax, repeat.

2. Take a deep, deep breath, hold for five seconds, release, repeat. The neck muscles are “accessory muscles of respiration” and breathing exercises involve the neck muscles.

3. While standing with both hands behind your back, grab one thumb with your other hand. Flex your head way back. Press down with your hands. Take a deep breath, relax, repeat. This exercise can be done lying on your stomach as well, after you get good at it standing up.

Raymond Lee Geok Seng is one of the foremost experts in the health and fitness industry and is a writer specializing in body health, muscle development and dieting. He has spent countless of time and efforts conducting research and share his insightful and powerful secrets to benefit men and women all over the world. He is currently the author of the latest edition of “Neck Exercises and Workouts.” Visit http://www.bodyfixes.com for more information.

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Chronic Back Pain And Neck Pain Are Often Similar

Tuesday, December 25th, 2007 | Neck Pain with No Comments »

Chronic Back Pain And Neck Pain Are Often Similar
By Melwin Frederic

Of all the aches and pains the body may get in a lifetime, chronic back pain and neck pain are probably the most persistent nagging pains we can get. These are two pains that can disrupt our entire lives, affecting both our personal and professional life. More time is lost from work from chronic back pain and neck pain, especially back pain, than any other ailments. Approximately 1/3 of the population is affected by chronic back pains.

Chronic back pain and neck pain will drastically change and alter our daily lives and require us to understand the problem and what is causing the problem. Both of these pains can be caused from overwork, twisting and bending our bodies the wrong way, injury and even stress. Before a doctor can help us to get rid of the pain, we need to know what the cause was.

There are some instances where an individual will wake up with a back or neck pain with no prior warning or indication. In other cases, people have turned their head in much the same way as they usually do and they’ll get a sharp pain in the neck or back. If ignored and left untreated, it does not go away and turns into chronic back pain and neck pain.

Pain management is the first step towards lessening or eliminating the pain. Although pain management is different than pain treatment, it’s still very important towards helping yourself to become pain free. Pain management is a method where we learn to deal with the pain and not let it rule our lives. Pain that is left untreated such as chronic back pain and neck pain can lead to other health problems such as damaging the immune system or leading to psychological problems. It also affects our physical capabilities, making us less active and not getting the exercise we need. This is turn, will have an even more negative effect on the body.

Many patients that suffer from chronic back pain and neck pain also suffer from anxiety and depression. The constant pain and inability to lead a normal life because of it, make the sufferer depressed and feeling helpless, which ultimately leads to more pain. Many doctors recommend sufferers seek counseling from a qualified psychologist. Often, when the therapy begins to help our emotional being, we begin to feel more energetic, which helps our physical condition. Our physical and emotional beings are linked so closely together that one may often affect the other. In some cases, chronic back pain and neck pain are brought on from a psychological problem.

Doctors always recommend seeking treatment as soon as you begin to experience back or neck problems as they can affect your entire life if left untreated.

Melwin Frederic have a free website about back pain and back pain relief. Check it out today and recive a Free report about back pain relief.

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Neck Pillow The Best Sleeping Partner For Neck Pain Sufferer. The Hyper Comfortable Pillow That Fully Support Your Head And Neck

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Neck Pillow That Fully Support Your Head And Neck

Monday, December 24th, 2007 | Neck Pain with No Comments »

Neck Pillow

The much unique neck support pillow provides extensive help for the people suffering from neck aches and extreme back aches. This in turn helps for people who have such ailments and thus provides them with assistance to sleep better. Most of the back and neck pains that are caused have the main root cause as the incorrect sleep posture or the sitting positions.

The pillow provides support and guidance for one to sleep in a comfortable manner. Thus it also keeps the spinal cord straight in line. Cervical pillow are another name for the neck support pillows.

The night sleep:

Only after one gets a good night’s sleep does one feel fresh and hence the energy to work. Thus, in order to get good nights sleep on is advised to get the pillows in the line of your body and thus it helps the neck and its gives the support.

According to ones body weight and the temperature, the neck gets in line. The pillows are normally made of some kind of foam which makes it durable. Sleeping on the stomach instead of the back but in an advised position too helps in the betterment of the neck and the back. These pillows prove to be a stopper for the people who snore as it considerably reduces the snoring of people. Also, those people who cant sleep and suffer from insomnia or have constant migraine trouble find these pillows helpful to keep their disorders in control. People can easily position themselves according to the pillows and thus have a sleep without and tossing or turning or waking up in the mid night.

Some people have the allergies from the regular pillows. Here, the OCA Water Pillow is much more convenient as they have much more resistant to the dust mites. The neck support pillow proves to be the ideal thing for our homes. The pillow is of great help in the homes as well as while traveling. While traveling, one can carry the foldable pillow and thus assure their neck safety during the journey. The pillow improves the circulation of the body. OCA Water Pillow is also the ideal gift for the people and can be gifted too.

©2007 health-information-articles.com.

Neck Pillow - The Best Choice For Your Neck Pain And Travelling Purpose.

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Exercise and topical drugs to reduce the neck pain

Monday, December 24th, 2007 | Neck Pain with No Comments »

Neck pain is caused due to a lot of problems which mainly relate to the exertion and the body stress. Excessive stress leads to the pain in the neck and the back. Any kind of strain on the back automatically leads on to the pain in the neck. One must take care in such situations and hence, take some medical help as the pain in the neck can also prove to be fatal at times. To treat the neck pain one can find a lot of medicines available in the market. But this may lead on to certain side effects. Hence, studying the medicine and the cause of the pain in the neck is imperative. Acupuncture and other medications that are available should be taken only with the doctors prescription as one may not know the ill effects of the same. Managing the pain is imperative.

Solutions:

To realize the components of the medicines can be good for one. There isnt one method to manage the pain, but many; hence, opting for the best one would be effective. Combining the medicines and the drugs in order to make one effective solution also works at times. In case of the mild and moderate pain, the counter drugs prove to be the perfect medication. People, who cannot consume medicines or tabs, go for the syrup and vice versa. Also certain creams are available in the market and are opted by many. Vitamin D is necessary for the people who are prone to such muscular and bone disorders. Exercise is extremely necessary for the people wanting to eradicate the neck pain completely.

Research has shown the effects of the vitamins on any problems related to the bone. The posture should be kept in mind. Incorrect posture can mean harm to the bones. The neck pain doubles if one does not have good sitting and sleeping habits. The diet should comprise of the healthy food. People dealing with neck pain must take proper care and also indulge in regular exercise as this may turn to be fatal at times.

©2007 health-information-articles.com.

Neck Pillow - The Best Pillow To Relieve Neck Pain

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