If you’re suffering from neck pain and looking for relief, don’t just reach for a bottle of pain medication. This may help reduce pain, but it doesn’t address the cause of the pain.
To get rid of neck pain and prevent more pain from developing in the future, try these methods:
Improving your posture
The way you hold your head when you sit and stand plays a significant role in the development of neck pain. If you hunch your head forward, you put a lot of pressure on the muscles in your neck. Each inch you hold your head forward increases pressure by ten pounds. You can see how holding your head this way for a long time ends up causing pain.
However, we do this all the time. We sit with our heads looking down at computer screens or smartphones. We walk with our head held low. Simply bringing your head up and squaring your ears with your shoulders helps a lot in reducing and preventing neck pain.
If you work at a computer, readjust the height of your screen. If you spend a lot of time on your smartphone, hold it up higher when in use.
Drinking more water
Water is the basis of the fluids your body needs for many of its functions. The discs in your cervical spine (the portion of your spine in the neck) are filled with a soft, jelly-like substance that cushions the vertebrae from impact and friction. This substance requires water to remain effective.
Failure to stay hydrated can result in the deterioration of these discs, which can cause pain and other problems.
Stretching and exercising
A reliable way to reduce neck pain and prevent future neck pain is to strengthen and stretch the muscles in your neck. When weak and stiff, these muscles provide inadequate support for the spine and your head. This leads to increased pressure on the spine, which results in pain.
Try some basic head rolls and shoulder rolls or talk to a physical therapist about stretches and exercises that will be best for you depending on the cause and severity of your neck pain.
Physical therapy
Physical therapists can treat neck pain without the use of medication or invasive treatments. This is beneficial because medication causes side effects and surgery is painful and requires a lot of time for recovery.
Physical therapy methods help reduce pain and prevent it from developing again in the future. The primary goal of physical therapy is to improve the strength and flexibility of the muscles and soft tissue in the neck, but physical therapists use other treatments too, including:
Visit Panther Physical Therapy for neck pain treatment
If your ankle has been hurt due to an injury or debilitating condition, you should see a physical therapist at Panther Physical Therapy for help. Our team specializes in these methods and more to help you reduce ankle pain and restore your range of motion. Contact us today to learn more about treating ankle pain or to schedule an initial appointment.