Neck Pain Support Blog

Strengthening Your Neck Muscles for Better Health

Doing exercises for the neck is extremely important. This includes stretching and strengthening. In fact, recent studies have shown that exercising in general plays a positive role in chronic pain. Having weak neck muscles can be a cause for certain painful conditions. It can contribute to such things as:

• fatigue
• irritability
• headache
• sleep loss

. When doing exercises, they must be performed correctly, in order to avoid injury. They should be performed slowly, and you should stay within your “pain boundaries”. Never do an exercise to the point of pain. The purpose of neck exercises is to increase your range of motion, reduce stiffness/tightness, and strengthen your neck muscles.

The neck exercises below combine range of motion (ROM) against light/partial resistance in 4 directions (forwards, backwards, and left side bending and right side bending). To do these correctly follow these instructions: Pretend that you are involved in an arm wrestling contest:

1. Push your head into your hand while moving the head to the end of the range, “…letting the head win” (See A, C, E, G).
2. Repeat this going back in the opposite direction by “letting the hand win” (see B, D, F, H), again, moving through the entire range of motion.

ALWAYS push the head into the hands, Make sure you move the head against resistance in BOTH directions, 3 times each (A-B then B-A x3; C-D then D-C x3) then, (E-F then F-E x3, and lastly, G-H then H-G, x3 reps).

It is very important to do these exercises VERY slowly (to build motor control and coordination) and to move through the entire “comfortable” range of motion. Repeat 3x slowly.

If pain worsens, lighten up on the amount of pressure used or, stop the movement just prior to the sharp pain onset. If you can’t make it to the end of the movement due to pain, make a note of how many reps it took before the onset or increase of pain and how far you could move your head. Do 3 slow reps and then move to the next exercise direction.

These neck strengthening exercises can be performed 1 to 3x/day, according to tolerance, and will increase ROM, increase strength, and build coordination, all at the same time.

Article Source: Dr.Bellinger’s Monthly Newsletter July 2009

Additional Resources:

• Neck Exercises- Stretching and Strengthening; To Decrease Pain, increase mobility and range of motion of the neck spine
• Exercise for Neck Pain Works, Study Shows
• Can Forward Head Posture Cause Neck Pain?
• Head Retraction Exercises
• How to Prevent Neck Pain At Your Desk Job
• How to Choose the Right Neck Pillow for your Needs

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A Supportive Travel Neck Pillow for a 20 Hr Flight...

Question: I have a 20 hour flight and need suggestions for good neck support or pillows. Buckwht? Beads? Inflatable? U? I've never used a U pillow but I like the idea that it stays in place. I have an aisle seat so I can't lean against the window. I don't know how thick of a pillow I would need. Your experiences would be helpful.

Answer: If you are sitting for about 20 hours I would recommend you buy a U shaped pillow- this way your head can be comfortably relaxed sitting up and you won’t be leaning left or right. Do you like foam or polyester fiber fill for a neck pillow- it comes down to special preference. If you have a specific symptom, such as neck pain, stiff neck or pain due to a neck condition (pinched nerve, herniated or bulging disc), the Foam pillow will be a better choice. The U Shaped Memory Foam neck pillow responds to your body heat and adjusts to your unique needs of your head and neck. If you suffer with neck pain or headaches you may want to get a pillow that has a built in ice pack for added comfort. In particular its called the headache ice pillow. Here are some travel pillows that you can look at:

• The Travel Core Neck Pillow- U Shaped, made out of fiber. Get the support you need while sitting (lobes down) or lying down (lobes up or down).
• U Shaped Memory Foam Pillow> - made with 100% viscoelastic foam to provide comfort for your special sleeping or resting needs. This U Shaped Travel pillow responds to body heat to better conform to the unique shape of your head and neck, helping to comfortably stabilize an existing condition.
• Headache Ice Pillow- This unique u shaped pillow has special , compact design to help relieve headaches by providing support to your neck while sleeping or resting with the addition of ice therapy. An anatomically designed, soft-frozen gel pack can be inserted into the pillow for added relief. Great for travel, reading or sleeping, this pillow also can provide relief from pinched nerves, stiffness, sprains, neck injuries or other traumas. You can keep the gel pack in the freezer until you need it.

Additional Reading Resources:

• The Perfect Pillow for Travelling
• Travel Pain Free This Holiday Season with the Right Pillow
• The Right Pillow for Headaches

Visit Arc 4 life for the best neck pain relief products and information.
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Study Shows Why Our Sleep Routine Is So Important

When I was studying back in a day, all my homework was completed at night- It was the weirdest thing- some of my friends would do their homework in the early morning, others like me- late at night. This phenomenon is our bodies internal clock called a Circadian rhythm.

Your parents may “nag” you to get up every morning at 7:30 am, and they may force you go to sleep at 9:30 pm every night. Yes, this can be annoying, but this study shows that if you follow your parents advice, it is will be for your own good health.

A new UC Irvine Study, appearing in Science express online shows that these circadian rhythms regulate the energy levels in cells. This is a very important study because it gives us more information about how we metabolize food and the creation of new treatments for such conditions as cancer, diabetes, and obesity. These diseases are all caused by cell energy deficiencies.

Professer Paolo Sassone-Corsi and his collegeaus found that the proteins involved with circadian rhythms and metabolism are intrinsically linked and dependent upon each other.

“Our circadian rhythms and metabolism are closely partnered to ensure that cells function properly and remain healthy,” Sassone-Corsi said.

Circadian rhythms are important because they determine sleeping and eating patterns of humans. It is basically our internal clock that tells us when we should go to sleep, wake up, even telling us when it is time to eat. There are clear patterns of core body temperature, brain wave activity, hormone production, cell regeneration and other biological activities linked to this daily cycle. These circadian rhythms are going 24 hours, 7 days a week. Upsetting ones internal body clock can lead to conditions like depression, insomnia, increase in body weight, cancer and diabetes. They help us to adapt to changes in the environment and the time of day. Not following these patterns can have an adverse affect on our health.

Professor Sassone-Corsi and his collegeues have found that there is an important interactions between proteins (CLOCK Protein and SIRT1 protein) that is needed for circadian rhythms to function properly. This interaction is crucial for sensing cell energy levels and affects aging and metabolism.

“When the balance between these two vital processes is upset, normal cellular function can be disrupted,” Sassone-Corsi said. He further states that this can lead to illness and disease.

The findings suggest that proper sleep and diet may help maintain or rebuild this balance, and also help explain why lack of rest or disruption of normal sleep patterns can increase hunger, leading to obesity-related illnesses and accelerated aging. So your parents have good reason to get you into the habit of waking up and sleeping at the proper time. This is sage advice that that this study gives new light to!

Article Source: UCI.Edu- Body clock regulates metabolism

Additional Resources:

• Sleep Deprivation and How It Affects More Than Your Mind
• Best Sleep Equals Better Control of Blood Pressure and Cardiovascular Health
• Six Ways To Get Better Nights’ Sleep
• Which Sleeping Position is Best For You?
• How Much Sleep Is Enough for Me?
• Choosing the Right Neck Pillow for the Best Sleep Possible
• More Sleep Articles at the Neck Pain Support Blog

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Headaches with Neck Pain: A Likely Pair

Today’s blog post comes from Dr. Bellinger’s Monthly newsletter that he mails to his patients every month. Dr. Bellinger is a chiropractor in Glastonbury, Connecticut and specializes in treating chronic conditions such as neck pain, headaches and lower back pain.

Neck pain and headaches can be very disabling and can significantly alter a person’s normal pattern of living. Simple things like reading the newspaper, cooking, driving a car, and/or looking down when feeding a baby, can become almost intolerable. Canceling plans for the day or saying “no” to vacations can be very disheartening and often occurs because of severe neck pain and/or headache making these activities simply, “no fun.”

The cause of the headaches associated with neck pain and dysfunction is usually due to the compression caused by the tight neck muscles squeezing the upper three nerve roots in the neck region, resulting in radiating pain into the head.

Frequently, light and noise sensitivity, as well as nausea, can accompany a severe headache, which only adds to the activity limitations associated with neck pain. In fact, there are many experts who feel most headaches, even migraines, stem from the neck or are at least are very closely related. Since neck pain affects approximately two thirds of the population at some point during their lifetime, it becomes clear that headaches, in the absence of neck pain, are quite uncommon.

Headaches often involve tightening of the muscles of the neck such as the cervical paraspinals and the suboccipitals. Often tight and tender to touch, they are the one area that should be treated when looking at headache relief. Using a supportive cervical pillow in conjuction with ice helps to decrease inflammation, and provides an analgesic effect. The Headache Ice Pillow, (so aptly named !) has a unique U shaped that allows you to place the pillow under your neck, targeting the posterior cervical muscles.

Additional Reading Resources:

• The Right Pillow for Headaches
• Headache Pain Relief Products
• Treatment for Headaches: Tens vs Manipulation
• Stiff Neck ? Is that what you have?

Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical supports and cervical traction products for relief of stiff neck, and neck pain Bookmark this on Delicious Stumble It!

I have Extreme Neck Pain. Please Help Me !

Question: I'm a healthy 23 yr old woman, but recently I've been having really bad neck pain. I was thrown off of a horse about 2 weeks ago, but the neck pain had been causing me problems 2 weeks prior to the accident. I went to the ER and the doctor said I had whiplash and severe bruising in my forearm. She prescribed hydrocodone and flexril, enough for 5 days (3x/day each). It has been over 2 weeks since then, and my neck hurts more than ever now. I sincerely believe that I have a phobia of going to doctors, and I am in financial crunch (I was just laid off!), but I think something is seriously wrong. I have a very high pain tolerance, but the pain is nauseating. Should I go see a doctor or wait it out? What could be wrong with me? Please help....and thanks for any and all answers.

Answer: Being thrown off of a horse is a very traumatic experience. Yes, it does sound like you may have experienced whiplash. This violent whipping of the head and neck can create injuries to the structures surrounding the cervical spine. There is also probably a cervical sprain/strain – an injury to the ligaments, soft tissues and neck muscles. This type of injury can also cause headaches, nausea, weakness and changes in sensation as well.

My recommendation is to see a chiropractor about this problem. They will be able to treat your neck using chiropractic manipulation and therapies (Such as ice, heat and electric stimulation). When you are ready, they will also give you exercises as well to stretch and strengthen the cervical spine.

Also, the chiropractor may recommend for you to have a neck x-ray- that can show if there is an alignment issue. If you do not get better with conservative treatment, you may have to go for a cervical MRI which shows the discs and soft tissue structures.

The good news is that chiropractic is covered in most States and by most insurances. If you do not have health insurance, speak with the Doctor and they may be able to put you on a cash/discounted plan.

For the symptoms that you have described, I would ice your neck and upper back. Ice helps to decrease inflammation and provides a pain relieving effect. Get a good support neck pillow for sleeping at night. You may want to use a natural pain relief gel for your neck and upper back to help with the muscle pain. Get a cream called Biofreeze if possible. I would definitely get this checked out, so that you don’t have pain long term. Acute Neck pain can turn into Chronic Neck Pain- meaning that this could last for a long time. It can be a nagging sensation that affects all of your activities of daily living. Therefore, it is best to seek treatment sooner than later.

Additional Reading Resources:

• More Causes of Neck Pain
• Remedies for A Stiff Neck
• How to End Neck Pain Naturally By Doing a Cervical Traction Program
• The Top 10 Reasons for Neck Pain and How to Correct Them
• What do After a Whiplash Type Accident
• Choose the Right Neck Pillow when You have Neck Pain

Photo Source: RoxburyNY.com

Question Source: Yahoo Answers

Visit Arc 4 life for the best neck pain relief products and information.
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