Is nagging neck pain getting in the way of your ability to focus? Your sleep? Your overall mood? Sick of popping ibuprofen and waiting for the pain's evident return?
I know how you feel. I've been there.
But what if I told you don't have to live like this? Because it's true. You don't have to live like this. Neck pain doesn't need to be a part of your daily life. There is a solution and someone can help you. And believe it or not, there's a lot YOU can do to minimize your neck pain.
Neck pain is something I see in my chiropractic office daily. To some, it's a mere annoyance. To others, it's a major hinderance that interferes with the way one experiences their daily life. It is rather difficult to be present and in the right headspace in our daily lives when our spines are screaming for help in the background. That's why I made this blog post... to help those out there who are looking for a solution to their neck pain and not just merely a band-aid over their chronic symptoms. The solutions I offer today approach things in an effective and holistic way.
#1- Regular Chiropractic Care
In those who suffer from neck pain and headaches, cervical subluxations are commonly present. The world subluxation is indicative of a joint in the spine that is not moving properly due to either physical, chemical or emotional stress. A subluxation is an interference in nervous system communication. A subluxation does not allow the brain and body to communicate the way that it should. This can result in pain, migraines, earaches, a tight jaw, and even an increase in emotional stress.
If you suffer from any of these things above, it's essential to find a chiropractor that you trust to help you along your health journey. Healing takes time. Each chiropractic adjustment builds upon the one before. Regular chiropractic care ensures that your nervous system is properly communicating and that your body is functioning the way that it should. Regular chiropractic care can result in less pain, less headaches, less stress, and an overall more positive mood.
If you are in the Flathead Valley area or nearby communities and you're looking to add a chiropractor to your health routine, you can click on this link to get in contact with our office and prepare to elevate your quality of life with chiropractic care. We would love to be there for you!
# 2- Lift Your Phone Up
In today's modern society, we spend A LOT of time looking down at our phones, tablets, and other technology. While I don't think technology is a full-blown enemy, I do think it is important to be mindful of our digital consumption as well as our posture when we are plugged into our digital devices. When properly aligned, our ears should be relatively over our shoulders (specifically our AC joints). Unfortunately the large majority of us have forward leaning posture, meaning that our neck is leaning farther forward than it should and this causes stress and early degeneration within the spine. Did you know that for every inch forward your head rests, it adds about 10 pounds of extra pressure to your spine?! Yikes!!!
Good news though... you can do something about it. By simply lifting your phone to eye level, you can minimize the amount of stress placed on your spine. If you work at a desk or spend a lot of time in front of a computer, it's important to do your best to have your computer screen at eye level or use a bookstand (like this one I purchased from Amazon while in grad school) to prop your books up so you don't have to lean over so much.
In addition to adding stress to your spine, this forward head posture also influences our ability to take full breaths and relax. As time goes on, this becomes a chronic issue and dampens our nervous system's (and therefore entire body's) ability to relax and this keeps us in a constant state of stress... and we definitely don't want that! Chronic stress has detrimental health effects (more on that later).
#3- Move Your Neck Properly
There's a reason I name my yoga classes "Movement Medicine"... because movement IS medicine! When we properly move our body, we allow our body to function more optimally. In fact, living a sedentary lifestyle is a MAJOR lifestyle risk factor when it comes to many common, disastrous health issues like heart disease, stroke and cancer.
While having a stiff or uncomfortable neck may not exactly lead to those things listed above, it still contributes to things like headaches, migraines, jaw pain, and decreased mental clarity. Healthy range of motion makes for a healthy spine! Follow this link to a quick physiotherapy YouTube video that shows you some ways to strengthen your neck and follow this link for one of my most favorite YouTube "yoga for neck" videos! Fun fact: when I first started doing yoga years ago, this was one of the first flows I started to do consistently and I felt major benefits from it.
Take Care of Yourself
Just know that if you are someone who experiences neck pain or headaches regularly, there's a really good chance that there are things you can integrate into your regular routine to prevent it from happening in the first place. In order to be truly healthy, happy, and well- we must take care of ourselves and do our active duty to effectively PREVENT these things from happening in the first place so that we don't have to ineffectively REACT to them later on.
If you listen to your body now, you won't have to listen to your body when it screams. Don't wait until it's too late... take care of your spine today! If you are in Columbia Falls or the surrounding Flathead Valley, don't hesitate to reach out to us.
* Disclaimer: Neither this blog post nor this website are intended to treat or diagnose any health or medical condition. It is merely offered as a general educational tool rather than individualized healthcare advice. It's always important to consult your own doctors when making important decisions about your health.
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