Neck Pain Support Blog

7 Things to Avoid Right Before Bed so that You Can Get the Best Night of Sleep

If you have been experiencing difficulty getting to bed, falling asleep and staying asleep I have 7 tips for you. Here are 7 things you should avoid right before bedtime.

Yes, it is Possible to Get Better Sleep

1. Avoid Working Out right before bed. Vigorous exercise just before bed can make it hard to fall asleep.It stimulates the heart, brain and muscles and increases your body temperature. Exercise during the morning and early afternoon is the best method to help you sleep at night.My 5 year old loves to run around the house at times, circling around. Avoid this right before bed. You want your heart rate to relax,not be racing.
2. Avoid Drinking too much water. Too much water means your sleep is going to be interrupted because you will have to get up and go to the bathroom. 
3. Avoid drinking caffeine right before bed. Right along with that, avoid dark chocolate too.
4. Avoid your digital devices just before bed. Really, put them away. Studies have shown that this can interrupt your body's production of melatonin. Personally, I prefer to be reading a real book right before bed, since I don't like the screen of my ipad on my face right before sleeping. 
5. Avoid Computer work. This includes emailing people and surfing the net. I know this is a hobby for many but really avoid it at bed time.
6. Avoid drinking alcohol before bed. Alcohol interrupts our deep sleep mechanisms: REM Sleep. Yes, it can make you drowsy but it will interrupt your deepest sleep.
7. Avoid sleeping on a flat pillow or too many pillows. Sleep on a contoured cervical support pillow such an arc4life traction pillow or a tricore pillow. These particular pillows have neck rolls on them and are shaped such that they provide ultimate neck support whether you are on your side or on your back. Keep in mind, there may be an adjustment period for such pillows- but it's worth it for better deeper sleep.

Updated: 5/1/2020

Additional Reading:

• Supplements that can help you to sleep better at night
• Why You Should keep your electronics away from your bedroom
• Pillows that work well to help you sleep
• Why Sleep Really is Important for Overall Wellness
• Are you waking up with more pain?

Do Gentle Neck Stretching for Natural Neck Pain Relief

The purpose of Traction is to stretch your neck.Your neck is make up vertebrae or bones that have discs between them that act like a sponge. On each side of the spine you also have nerves that exit out from your spinal cord. These nerves innervate everything in your body. The feeling in your fingers, what you feel, anything that you do really - these nerves are responsible for that.

With neck traction you pull apart the bones, allowing any pressure on these nerves and discs to be removed. That is kind of a basic explanation of what neck traction is. With traction you are also stretching the muscles and ligaments around the bones as well.Of course, neck traction is not for everyone, and I always mention to patients - check with you Dr to make sure you can do home neck traction.

Often times, patients will do neck traction at the physical therapists or chiropractors office. A few times a week, 15- 20 minutes at a time.

As with many products, there are many different types of traction units. I prefer the ones that put your neck into the C Curvature, or allow for  a lordosis while you stretch. One example is the arc4life traction posture pump. There are many units on the market today, each one that caters to something different. For example, if you wanted to do seated neck traction, check out the trac-collar.

The Posture Pump stretches the neck muscles, ligaments and vertebrae

What does neck traction help with?

• neck arthritis
• disc herniation
• disc bulge
• neck pain
• tight muscles
• muscle spasms

 Additional Reading Resources:

• Neck Traction Units that work to stretch your cervical spine
• A Pillow that does neck traction
• Cervical traction machines that work to give you relief
• What to look for when doing neck traction
• Putting the Curve back into your neck
• Information on the Posture pump 1100 for neck stretching made easy and comfortable

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Don't be a Victim of the Tech- Neck

All around the work, digital devices have taken over. Everyone has a cell phone. Very young kids even have them. Most adolescents and teens HAVE to have them. Heads are down, thumbs are madly working to write, send and receive messages. On the road, I see constantly people texting and driving. Anytime there is a "wait" - people are on their cell phones. 

The Real Phenomenon of Texting and Neck Pain

So tech neck, or text neck is happening. Keeping our head and shoulders in this position of using our cell phones for long periods of time has create a real health phenomenon. Your neck muscles get shorter and tighter and shoulders get rounded. Your posture is strained. Especially over long periods of time.

What the signs and symptoms- and what can we do alleviate this?

1.  Neck Pain - looking in the downward position adds extra weight to our head to carry around- sometimes up to 60 pounds of pressure. When your spine is in neutral position, it holds up your head which weighs about 10-12 pounds. When you neck is bent 15 degrees, your neck holds up 27 pounds of pressure. When your neck is bent 45 degrees, the neck holds up 49  pounds. When your neck is bent 60 degrees, your neck is holding up 60 pounds of pressure. Neck Pain and neck stiffness can be very common.Keeping your phone in a different position away from your head and neck is recommended.
2. Headaches - This type of position of constantly looking down, can be  a major source of headaches.Sitting more upright and bringing your phone to eye level can be beneficial and decrease headache occurences.
3. Eye Strain- Glaring at a tv screen, computer screen, ipad or mobile phone can cause eye strain. Just like playing video games, you blink less, you stare at the screen.This can cause over tiredness in the eyes. It can cause blurriness as well. Looking away for 5-10  minutes can help.
4. Shoulder Pain - Any time you are hunched over doing a task, its easy to hunch the shoulders. It can cause an ache and pain in the shoulder area. Be conscious of this. Stretch out your shoulders, and do shoulder rolls periodically. 
5. Upper Back Pain - Same as shoulder pain. Doing a task repeatedly in one position, can also cause upper back pain. Again take time to look away from your phone and stretch out your back.
6. Thumb and Finger Pain - Overuse can cause numbness and tingling, tiredness and pain in the thumbs and the fingers. Simply stretching out your fingers, wriggling your fingers and rotating your wrists gently can help greatly.

Our use of digital devices is not going to be decreasing anytime soon. So best advice: Get used to it - do it in a healthy manner. Think about your neck, shoulders, upper back and hands next time you text, and you will feel less pain in the long run.

My advice: use your cell phone less. Use Siri. Use the tool that automatically types for you. Put your phone on hold mode when you are driving. Talk to people. Exercise. Take a Break. Know that life goes on without your device.

Additional Reading Resources:

• Decreasing Tension in the Neck & Upper Back area
• Improve Your Neck Posture
• A Real thing called Tech Neck
• Exercise to beat depression that relaxes you
• Hunchback posture and how to beat it
• For cervical traction, try sleeping on a traction pillow

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Simple Towel Roll You Can Create Anywhere

Looking from a simple neck support you can create at home - Check out the towel roll below. This type of cylindrical support is very healthy for the neck because it mimics the natural curve of the cervical spine. I have seen patients use this for sleeping every night and also for doing neck traction at home. 

Additional Reading:

• What Causes the Military Neck Curve?
• Why its Important to Sleep with a Cervical Support Neck Pillow
• How to Use the Arc4life Pillow For Dummies :)
• Working at work without neck & back pain
• The hunchback posture and how to help it
• For Cervical Traction at Night try a traction pillow

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