Neck Pain Support Blog

How Does the USA Rank in terms of Health Care?

A recent study recently came out reviewing healthcare rankings for developed nations. #1 Ranking went to the United Kingdom, #2 went to Switzerland.  The United States came in a dismal last place; not good for a nation you constantly hear about being the best in healthcare.  The best doctors, the best treatment, the newest innovations...

 How can this be?  Oh yeah, we are número uno in something - can you guess what?

If you said - "spending" - you guessed right!  It was so sad to read this, so disappointing...  We spend something like $8000 + per person average, where the UK spends less than $4,000.  I actually couldn't believe it, the United Kingdom ranks better than us!  

Here's maybe the most sad thing - I have noticed that over-the-years, the US, has continued to pull up the rear.  I have notes from when I had written about this maybe 15 years ago.  And wouldn't you know it was very similar.

The US was last in overall health, we were at the bottom for at the bottom for quality of life ( meaning we might be kept alive longer, but we aren't there at good health), we are last in infant mortality, and last in efficiency.

Here's a big problem: they should call our system sickcare, not healthcare.  We might be great at treating "sick" people but not keeping and maintaining people's health.  No where in the world do people have such easy access to medications.  Nowhere in the world can you so easily get surgery.  This is all part of "sickcare".  Is that stuff needed sometimes, sure it is, but not like the way we give it here.

Take care of your body as much as you can, don't rely on our failing system.  Keeping that in mind, look 1st to the spine for the source of dis-ease (to quote the true father of medicine: Socrates). Start by maintaining that spine with a good neck pillow.

Additional Reading:

• What to do for  a straightened Neck Curve?
• Relief of painful trigger points at home
• Start Taking Care of Your Own Health: Your Body will Thank You
• Choose the correct pillow to sleep on
• 10 Top reasons for having neck pain and how to correct them

 

 

Which Doctor Do I See for My Neck Pain?

Here's a list of the doctors you might consider when dealing with your neck pain:

First, you want to lean toward the more natural treatments.  These might include seeing your Chiropractor or Acupuncturist.  Most of the ones who do acupuncture seem to be doctors.  Seeing a massage therapist isn't a bad idea either and the typically are not doctors.

 Most of us will often try the over the counter remedies as well.  If you do, pair that with some all natural remedies to... Maybe using some ice or heat at home.  A massage gel or spay (they even have a roll-on now), can give relief also.  A neck pillow can be another great pain reliever.

 After you've tried natural remedies and there was little to no relief, call the doctor.  Typically, you first will see your primary care doctor.  Or, if you feel this is truly a musculoskeletal issue (involves muscles or the bones), you should contact your Chiropractor.  This is also a more natural treatment because prescription medicine will not be used.

 Your primary care doctor may give you a short term prescription but may also refer you to an orthopedic doctor, neurologist, osteopath, rheumatologist, physiatrist, pediatrician, chiropractor (if you haven’t gone already), or the physical therapist (not a doctor but are often utilized in these cases).

 Let’s talk about the above doctors.  Of course if you have an issue that you are worried could be more serious such as a heart attack, stroke, cancer, or something of the like – call 911 or go to the E.R. (Emergency Room).

 

• Orthopedist – these specialists of deal with spine or bone issues.  Not everyone does surgery (orthopedic surgeon), but may use more specific medications such as injectable medication for pain relief and reducing inflammation to a specific area.
• Neurologist – these doctors are focused more on the nervous system; so if the source of your pain seems to be here more then you’ll want to see the neurologist.  Same thing goes as above; the neurosurgeon may do surgery but your neurologist may treat with medication your primary doctor doesn’t use.
• Osteopath – similar to the Chiropractor but he may mainly treat with medication.  Your primary care doctor may even be an osteopath.  Some may do a certain amount of manipulations but many solely use prescriptions.    
• You may get sent or go to your rheumatologist – this is mainly because you either have an inflammatory arthritic condition or one is suspected.
• The physiatrist is much like the physical therapist but is a doctor and can prescribe.  Their  focus will be on musculoskeletal conditions, rehabilitation, and pain medicine.
• Pediatrician – is typically the doctor one takes their children until adolescence.  Children should not suffer neck pain for an extended period of time.  Please see a doctor right away if your child is suffering pain.  Things like a recent car accident or sports injury can be a culprit.
• The Chiropractor does adjustments to the spine (specific movements to restore movement and free nerves from pressure.  Just like any other doctor on the list, he or she will refer you to another on the list if progress is not seen in a reasonable matter of time.
• I mentioned the physical therapist because many of the above doctors above may work with and/or commonly refer out to one.

 

There you have it, your short list of doctors to help you with neck pain.  Any combination of these docs helps as well. Also don't forget using some natural home relievers like an hot/cold pack,  neck pillow, or pain relief gel, or maybe a home neck stretcher.

Additional Reading:

1. I am not sure what type of pillow I need. Everyone tells me I walk like an old person...
2. Treatment for a Straightened Neck Curve
3. Phases on Degeneration in the Cervical Spine
4. Doing deep tissue massage and trigger point therapy as part of your exercise routine
5. Ouchy...I have a pinched nerve in my neck and shoulders...

 

Heat or Ice? Which one should I use?

Heat and Ice are all natural and you can really use either most times. With something all natural, the great thing is that there's no real negative side effects. Whereas taking a simple over-the-conter drug can have a slew of negatives.

That being said, if not used properly or using one when the other is a much better choice can worsen symptoms. Here's what I mean: If using the heat or ice pack directly on the skin can cause a skin burn. Also, using heat when there's inflammation can cause more inflammation to the surface, thus worsening symptoms.

Now, when is heat recommended and when is ice called for? Ice, we want to use when there is inflammation. This is typically when an injury first happened or is in what we call "acute". Use heat to loosen and relax an area. First thing in the morning when muscle and joints are tighter from being in one or two positions primarily, through the night.

So this is what I would do: let that morning hot shower soak on the area for an extra few minutes. In addition, break out that heat pack and put on the area for another 10 minutes.

At the end of the day is typically when inflammation has accumulated in a region. During the day you do a certain amount of tasks and to-do's that may irritate things and cause that inflammation to rise.

What works best for heat and ice therapy. I love these gel packs we have now which can be either hot or cold therapy. Put in the microwave for a few minutes for a hot pack and put it in the freezer for a cold pack.

Additional Reading Resources:

• Neck Pain Relief and Hot/Cold Packs
• Choose the Best Pillow for Sleep
• What Can you do for a stiff neck?
• Hot and Cold Packs that are Available
• What you can do for neck pain

Related articles

The Neck Pain Relief Total Package

"What Can I Do About My Neck Pain?"

Arthritis in the Neck...

So you were told you have arthritis in the neck. Most likely your doctor had ordered x-rays and diagnosed it from them. Or, the radiologist, saw it and reported to your doctor.

On the x-ray it will clearly show up as jagged edges of the bones and possibly decreased disc spaces.

There are many actual types of arthritis, all differentiated by certain symptoms and types of changes on the xrays. For example there is osteoarthitis or DJD(degenerative joint disease). This is like wear and tear arthritis. Like an old car - things start to break down. It typically occurs with age and a past injured area or areas. Let's say you had an old football injury to the right knee. That area may be shifted out of alignment and breaks down faster.

Here's the thing though - They may say "When you get old this will happen", but why do some get it and others not so much. The key is the spine and pressure on nerves. If the nerves are free from pressure it is not typically very bad, if hardly at all. The body works at its best when nerves are free of pressure. Will we get some breakdown as we get older? Sure! Our bodies are designed to last well into the 140's. That old car maybe not so much but you can still see the analogy.

There can be other factors at play too. For example rheumatoid arthritis has an autoimmune component. Gouty arthritis is when uric acid crystal build up in the joints, etc.

Therefore spinal alignment plays a role but so does diet, genetics, and lifestyle. So how can we slow that arthritis down.

• Make sure your spine is in alignment - This will keep nerves free from pressure, and the body working at its best.
• Eat Right - there may be some specific things you can eat or not eat that will help either get rid symptoms or promote health.
• Avoid or perform certain activities. Some exercise may help whereas some hobbies may contribute negatively.

So try these things to improve your neck arthritis and control your neck pain.

Additional Reading Resources:

• A Pillow for Neck Arthritis
• 6 causes of neck pain that you don't always think of
• What to do for herniated disc in the neck
• The Neck Pain Relief Package- Products for pain relief
• One Way To Appear Taller and Slimmer

Image Source: Sport and Spine Rehab

Sleep Deprivation: Not Good For Your Health

We have discussed sleep and how much you need many times here at the Neck Pain Support Blog. Yesterday morning, yet again, the Today Show had a peice on how not sleeping enough can be harmful to your health.

Researchers have shown that about 1/3rd of Americans are not getting the required 8 hours of sleep. Why? Simply, other things take precedent: folding laundry, writing bills, emailing our friends, working late, buying on amazon, etc. Most people are getting 5-6 hours of sleep (2 hours less).

Sleep deprivation can cause health problems at all ages such as:

• mood disorders such as anxiety and depression
• memory loss
• gaining weight
• more prone to getting sick (3x more likely to get an infection, flue or cold symptoms
• kids can be misdiagnosed with ADD because of sleep disorders
• can lead to cancer, diabetes and obesity
• can affect all organs

On the Today Show, their health corespondent Dr. Nancy Snyderman made a great point. She asked "how fast are you falling asleep when head hits the pillow". If you fall asleep instantly, there is an issue. It should take you 10-15 minutes to fall asleep. 

Not sleeping enough releases stressor chemicals into the body. Your body will go downhill in terms of health. This doesn't happen overnight, but over time it can affect  your health. Even one night of not sleeping well, changes the hormones in our body.

According to a Today Show Poll, they showed that only 8% of their views got 8+ hours of sleep. Interestingly only 33% viewers only get 5-6 hours of sleep per night. 

So what can we do to sleep better?

1. Keep the place you sleep, your bedroom dark, quiet and peaceful. That means no television, computers, tablets, or big bright alarm clocks
2. If you are very sensitive to how caffiene affects you, then don't drink it in the afternoon
3. Refrain from taking a late afternoon nap, take it earlier so it does not affect your sleep
4. Use your bed mainly for SLEEP
5. Have a routine for when you go to bed each night. As we get older, its gets harder to regulate our circadian rhythms. 
6. Use a supportive neck pillow at night to help you sleep comfortably on your side or on your back

Source: Sleep Deprivation Can Shorten Your Life

Picture Source: The Huffington Post

Additional Reading Resources:

• Choose the Best Neck Pillow for Sleep AND better Posture
• 6 Ways to Get a Better Night's Sleep Naturally
• Positioning Pillows to Help you be comfortable at night
• The New Arc4life Natural Alignment Neck Pillow
• Not Sleeping Well at Night? Learn What May Be the Culprit.

 

Related articles

Can Music Help Me To De-Stress So I Sleep Better?

Can Drinking Affect My Sleep?

How Can What I Eat Play A Role With My Neck Pain?

 

You are What You Eat

You probably remember me saying once or twice how everything in the body works together; well, it’s more than just – your cervical spine connects to your thoracic spine, etc. If you treat your body poorly, it will treat you poorly. You know if you put junk in, you get junk out.

Let’s look at some things you should be eating and not eating to combat, not just neck pain but other conditions also:

1. Decrease your sugar intake. Sugar is linked to so many poor health conditions I don’t even have time to go into it. Don’t forget most processed thing may break down into sugar!
2. Drink more Water. Water not only helps to hydrate the discs between your spinal bones but also flush out body toxins and wastes.
3. Eat more Green Vegetables. You really need to get all your vitamins and minerals. Your body actually makes vitamins but not minerals. Not to mention fiber and other healthy plant based components that are needed.
4. Add Turmeric – a natural anti inflammatory and universal health food. It’s been used for centuries in Indian cooking. Many have just realized the valuable health benefits. One Tip: To enhance the body's ability to use turmeric curcumin (the main active ingredient) combine the turmeric with black pepper.
5. Get rid of anything that says “diet”. These things will be loaded with other kinds of sugars, “fake sugars if you will”.
6. This leads me to my next thing to eliminate. Diet or not, try eliminating soda from the diet. Soda contains something called phosphoric acid which actually leaches minerals out of bone... Important things like calcium and magnesium that keep our bones healthy and strong.
7. Use a good sea salt rich in minerals. I actually use Himalayan salt. The fact is, you can’t necessarily get all the nutrients you need from just eating your veggies.

All that being said, keep your stress levels in check and exercise regularly. I only mention this too because you can eat great but you need to think of these other factors to get healthy as soon as possible.

Additional Reading Resources:

• Having Better Neck Posture is Important
• Choose the Best Neck Pillow for Better Sleep
• Your Health Should Be Your #1 Priority
• Chronic Stress Can be a Pain in the Neck, Among other things
• Check out Arc4life for the best neck traction for pinched nerve in the neck

Related articles

Simple Tips to Keep a Healthy Neck- Stay away from Neck Pain For Good

How Much Sleep Does a Child Need to Be Productive?

The Brain and How it Relates to your Neck.

Best Pillow for Side Sleeper with Pinched Nerve in Neck?

Top 10 Gifts for Neck Pain Sufferers

What Is The Hump on the Back of My Neck?

You May Stretch Before Working Out, But Do you Ever Stretch the Neck?

So many of us work out and even stretch before or after our routine. But do we ever stretch out our neck muscles? In almost every exercise routine we tend to use our neck muscles quite often.

Seeing as your neck muscles will get used whether you are using a weight lifting exercise or if you are solely doing a cardio workout, it just makes sense to stretch the area. 

For example I cannot imagine going for a run without stretching my hamstrings or my quads. 

Okay, so here is what you can do for the neck. I love simple lateral bends. Tilt your left ear towards your left shoulder. Hold this stretch for 10-20 seconds then repeat. Then do it on the right side. This will stretch the trapezius, the levator scapulae muscles,  as well as the cervical paraspinals. You may even stretch the SCM Muscle and scalene muscles too. Next do simple head rolls. Half circle to the front and half circle to the back. This will also help to loosen the muscles in the neck as well as mobilize the spine. 

That's it. Two minutes. You're Done.

Another thing that also helps it just to make sure and warm up before your workout. This could be simple: jogging, or riding the stationary bike for five minutes. Doing this simple gets your body moving and your blood flowing. 

So next time you exercise, do a warm up as well as some quick easy neck stretches. You will soon be able to able to wipe away the fear you have of getting your neck aggravated. 

Additional Reading Resources:

• Stretches for the Neck
• Posture Products for the Neck and Midback
• Tips to Prevent Neck Pain
• Neck Traction and Neck Pillow for Pain Relief
• I have a reverse C Curve in My Neck, Which Pillow Do You Recommend?

 

Related articles

When I do Neck Traction, I can Feel it in My Lower Back

"Melt" Your Neck Pain Away

Functions of the Neck or Cervical Spine...

The cervical spine is responsible for supporting our head, for allowing mobility, and for providing a safe passage for nerves travelling up and down it. One of the important functions of the cervical spine is to support one of our most important features: our head. Our heads hold our brains, our eyes, our ears, and many other vital sensory features. The spine is responsible for holding up this valuable system and for aiding the functions it is responsible for. For example, the neck’s flexibility allows us to move our head almost 180^o from side to side. This mobility enhances our ability to observe the world around us through our sense of sight. In addition to these functions, the cervical spine provides our delicate nerves with a protected passageway. This reduces the likelihood of severing or damaging these vital networks.

The cervical spine is able to give us this support, flexibility, and protection because it is designed in a set of vertebrae that runs vertically along our backs. This structure allows to neck to move about relatively freely. At the same time, however, this means that the neck is less protected and more vulnerable to strains. Thus, it is important to take good care of our necks and spines so that they can continue to perform these functions which are so important in our everyday lives. 

If you think about it our central nervous system is so important it's encased in bone.  Why would our bodies be created in this way.  The simple anwer is that this is true.  Our control center is the key to us staying pain free.  Let's do our best to keep this system working at its best.  The next part to the equation is to keep good alignment of the spine.

Additional Reading Resources:

• Exercises for the Neck
• Home of the Arc4life Cervical Traction Neck Pillow
• Treat a Stiff Neck Naturally At Home
• Understanding the Bed Wedges Multiple Uses
• Fiber Support Neck Pillows

 

Head retraction exercises

These exercises are just what they are called, retracting or bringing the head back. Standing or sitting up straight, look straight ahead and allow yourself to completely relax. Move your head slowly and steadily backward until it is pulled back as far as you can go. Be sure not to tilt your head up or down but glide it straight back. I find doing this in front of a mirror and using one of your index fingers on your chin will help guide you.

Imagining a track your head is sliding on also helps. Once you bring the head back, hold for a 3 to 5 count and relax. Repeat for only 5 repetitions your first time performing them. Each day do another rep or two until you have worked up to 20 repetitions. Then, move on to using resistance below.

Head retraction against pressure

Perform this same exercise but with your hands holding gentle pressure against your head in the back. This creates some resistance making your muscles work a little harder. Like you are doing crunches, place both hands behind your head; perform the exercise above only with a little resistance of your hands. Only do this exercise once you are comfortable without the resistance. Also, if still in acute pain Do Not do this yet; wait until you have gotten pain to subside. You can also do this one standing against a wall or lying down flat on the bed or even with a towel or elastic band for resistance.

Additional Reading Resources

• Forward Head Posture
• Arc4life- Your choice for neck pain, lower back pain and headache pain relief. Neck Pillows, neck traction, lower back pain relief and hot and cold therapy.
• The Dreaded Hunchback - How to Correct That Area of Your Upper Back That Pops Out and Looks Funny!
• Joint Restrictions Will Put Additional Stress on Discs
• The Neck Pain Relief Shop

Another Cause of Neck Pain: Use of your Apple Ipad

The Apple Ipad has come to be known for many things: Innovation, Easability of use, Great for Kids to keep themselves busy while mom is cooking, reading the newspaper  and best of all, easy to move around with - but here's a new one: Neck Pain and Shoulder Discomfort.

This  recent news comes from the Harvard School of Public Health,which conducted the study. The study stated that users of a tablet computer such as ipad or a motorola zoom (these two tablet computers were used in the study) may be more likely to experience neck and shoulder pain after prolonged use. 

In the study, there were four configurations of using a tablet computer that were tested:

• holding the tablet in one’s hand while on the lap
• holding the tablet in a case on the lap
• holding the tablet in a case on a table
• tablet held upright on a table for the purpose of watching a film.

The tablets were outfitted with various cases and stands that users are generally seen using in everyday situations.

The study found that users of tablet computers in all four position configurations run a higher risk of “neck and shoulder discomfort” compared to normal desktop or laptop users. 

Why Does a Tablet user experience more pain than a regular desktop/laptop user? This stems mostly from poor posture users exhibit when using tablet computers since their posture and head/neck angles are much more strained. In particular, the head and neck are required to flexion more forward when using a tablet computer

Can neck pain and shoulder pain be reduced when using a tablet computer? Yes, neck pain and shoulder pain can be reduced in two ways:

1. Placing the tablet computer higher to avoid a low gaze angle (ie. place the computer on a table, rather than using it on your lap)
2. Use a case that provides optimal viewing angles

Personally, I am all about new technology- but i have yet to purchase a tablet computer. I simply love my desktop and my laptop. All my friends seem to own one and love it. I doubt that this study will keep them from using their tablet computers.

Source: Touch Screen Tablet User Configurations and Case Reported Head Tilt affect head and neck flexion angles, November 2011

Additional Reading Resources

• "I wake up with sore and stiff shoulders everyday"
• Neck Pain and Eye Pain from using the Computer: The CVS Syndrome
• Pillows for Neck Pain: Better Neck Posture and Better Sleep
• How to Treat a Stiff Neck
• Neck Exercises to relieve neck stiffness and discomfort