Neck Pain Support Blog

Let's Talk Pillows...Can It Really Help My Neck Pain?

The right pillow can absolutely help your neck pain.  It's probably no secret that my favorite pillow is the Arc4Life Cervical Linear Traction Neck Pillow.

The biggest thing you'll notice  with this pillow is that it actually looks like a "pillow".  It sounds funny for me to say that but I've seen some funky pillows.  The reason some people have neck pain to begin with is their pillow.

Does your pillow crank your head upward or maybe lose all its support during the night, so it's like sleeping on the mattress without a pillow.  Or did your pillow cost so much that each night you can't get over the fact that it still doesn't seem like it helps.

The NY Times actually did a piece on pillows and talked about Arc4Life's Traction Pillow.  With all the crazy pillows out there the traction pillow was one of the top ones.

So How Can Arc4Life's Pillow

Get Rid Of My Neck Pain?

It's all in the design!  The neck roll at the bottom of the "V" helps restore and maintain the normal neck curve.  The special "V" helps to not only hold the head in place but will also give a ever-so-slight distraction opening up the neural foraman.  This gives the nerve root slightly more room and helps inflammation to dissipate.

Let's be clear, inflammation is the usual reason for pressure on a nerve or nerves.  When we align the spine, we restore the function, take pressure off nerves, and reduce pain.  One might say - "what about the discs?"  I've been quoted as saying "the discs are dynamic".  What does that mean?  To me, that means that they will bulge or retract on their own.  How does someone with radiculopathy and a blaring bulged disc on a cervical mri, get better and have a negative mri.  It's because the disc retacts back slightly or moves a bit and inflammation goes down, and the patient's symptoms improve.

WHO KNEW SO MANY SUFFER FROM NECK PAIN?

Whatever the case, whether it's a clear disc issue, muscle strain, or whatever, the Arc4Life Cervical Traction Pillow has helped may individuals end their neck pain.  It all really comes down to aligning the spine as best as possible.

Additional Reading:

1. A Great Pillow without the "V"
2. Can A Reversed Neck Curve Cause This Disease?
3. What are some symptoms of a Neck Disc?

 

Don't Let Holiday Stress Cause Neck Pain

 

Let's face it we often get a bit stressed this time of year. And where do most 
of us tend to carry that stress - right 
across the back of the neck and into 
the shoulders.

Research shows that people with 
increased stress tend to be less 
healthy. 

Stress doesn't seem to really cause 
anything, but can make anything and 
everything that is going on, even worse. 

Think about it - your body is a complex machine with a lot of moving parts. If one isn't working as good as it could, the 
body will have problems. So you can imagine all these systemsin the body, and stress starts to cause problems in one or 
more of those systems, what is going to happen to body 
function?

You guessed it! It's going to have some problems.

According to WebMD.com, 75% to 90% of all doctors visits aredue to stress. And OSHA (Occupational Health and Safety 
Administration) costs American industry over $300 Billion per 
year.

But Can't Stress Be A Good thing?

Yes, it gets you doing things; in a way, forces you to keep thattask or item on the top of your mind. Stress is responsible for your fight or flight response. Can you imagine not having that?...

 
The problems usually lie in the instance where your body is always 
stressed, there's no break, there's no relax time - this is typically 
when a particular health condition 
presents itself. The body gets in a 
continued stress state, there's no 
chance to rest.  This is sometimes 
referred to as "distress".

Now keep in mind that it an be a mental type stress; like your 
job for instance. Maybe work everyday for you is really a lot ofstress; but most often it's a physical factor. Let's say that for 2-4 hours a day for the last few weeks you haven't gotten any 
sun, or the water you are drinking is not good quality, 
anything really that your body is not adapting to. Most of us 
during the holidays may be eating too much sugar for a monthand a half - that can be a physical stressor for the body.


All that being said, watch your stressors, whether they are outside the body, or from what you are putting in the body, or a 
combination. Take time during the holiday's to relax and 
recharge, not the exact opposite.


Additional Reading Resources:

• Choose the Best Neck Pillow
• The Spinal Nerve Chart and how is relates directly to our health
• A Pillow Under the Tree for Christmas....
• Waking up with stiffness in the neck and shoulders
• The Neck Pain Relief Shop

"Whiplash" Can Mean A Lot Of Things...

 

We often hear the term "whiplash" used when someone gets into a care accident.  And it seems to be most associated with a rear end collision.  However, you can get hit from any old side and your head and neck will whip back and forth, side to side, etc, depending on the direction of you or the opposing force.

 

In fact, a fall,  getting hit in a sporting event, by another or a ball, even a bug smacking you when your on a bike can all cause a "whiplash". In other words, your head getting flung in each direction.  An example was our new car with super tight breaks - it felt like I was getting whiplashed each time we stopped ( I was in the passenger seat). Basically each time we stopped I was flung back and forth.

 

So how does this effect your body.  Well the neck, which is slightly more mobile than the lower spine will be less secured.  In the car your lower body is planted firmly in a seat and we even have a belt too.  Whereas we need to be able to move the neck to see, talk, chew, and more.  Not to mention that the neck, or cervical spine has 7 vertebrae, and they are smaller; while the lore back has 5.   The pelvis and hips also, in a way, shield the lumbar vertebrae.  The neck is up there with a big bowling ball on top of it (your head).

 

When your head and neck gets jolted, it moves the spine out of position.  Now sometimes every goes back perfectly in place and we are back to normal, but sometimes it doesn't.  That's when we get pain, difficulty moving, maybe even headaches.  Not only does it solely affect the spine but you can have muscle problems too.  That rapid movement of the neck will most often strain muscles to.  In the neck we might be talking about the trapezius, levator scapulae, paraspinal, and even occipital muscles.

 

Don't forget about the tendons and ligaments.  There can often be an extended healing period due to all of these components that can get injured.

 

We also have discs in between each spinal bone that can be influenced.  These discs have a couple components to: you can have a bulge, rupture, tear...  So you see that "whiplash" type motion has the ability to possibly cause a number of things.

 

Additional Reading Resources:

1) Auto accident whiplash video

2) Correct Neck Position 

3) This is when you may need a collar