Neck Pain Support Blog

The Case for Adjustable Pillows

For some patients they  have an everchanging need for different pillows. This can happen because of an neck injury, a repetitive movement that causes pain once in a while, or perhaps a kink in the neck.They may need a softer pillow or a firmer pillow at times. What is a patient to do in cases like this? 

One alternative is to consider an adjustable neck pillow. One where the user can take out the material from the actual pillow. Yes, you can get the pump up with air  kind, but I am talking about the kind where you can open up your pillow, and remove filling to decrease the support of the pillow or add filling to increase the support of the pillow. This might sound almost to good to be true. Could a pillow like this provide the adequate level of cervical support that you need. The answer is yes. These pillows can be easily fluffed and changed around that you can change the level of support very easily. Personally I use one of these pillows for under my knees as well. I removed much of the fiber (which was a combination of shredded memory foam AND polyester fiber fill), and made it somewhat flatter. Below is the Arc4life Adjustable Pillow:

Memory Foam + Fiber Neck Pillow for Sleeping- Adjustable Pillows for the Side & Back Sleeper with Washable Bamboo-Tech Pillow Cover

More Adjustable Pillow Links:

• Arc4life Adjustable Pillow
• More Adjustable Neck Pillows for customized neck support
• Tri Core Adjustable Pillow with a PUMP
• Travel Twist Pillow. Another Adjustable Pillow for Travel
• The TriCore Adjustable WATER Pillow
• Adjustable Shredded Memory Foam and Fiber Neck Pillow
• Get 40% off on To Try this Arc4life Adjustable Pillow. Use Discount Code: Arc4lifeAdjustablePillow40  (Limited to first 6 customers)

Should I Sleep Without A Pillow if I have a Forward Head Posture?

In the last post here on Neck Pain Support Blog, I wrote about how the Forward Head Posture can cause not only neck pain, but also pain in the mid and lower back.

So should you use a pillow with this type of neck posture? Is it healthy? Some might think that using no pillow might be the best solution for this. 

Using no pillow is not the answer - it is not only uncomfortable, but it can make your situation and pain worse.

I recommend using a contoured neck pillow. Your head and neck needs to be properly supported especially with this type of neck posture. It is important to get the right size of pillow. Because your head and neck are already naturally pushed forward, you don’t want to get a pillow size that is too big. A pillow that is too big will exaggerate your forward head posture. It can make your neck and back pain worse.

An Example of a Contoured Neck Pillow that Can help with FHP

In the meantime do neck traction and postural exercises to help improve the forward head posture. This type of posture puts a lot of pressure on the head, neck and shoulder area.

Check out Part I: Forward Head Posture Post here on Neck Pain Support Blog: How FHP Can cause midback and low back pain too.

Additional Reading Resources:

• Exercises you can do for forward head posture
• How to Help Neck Pain and Headaches from Work
• Solutions for A Stiff Neck 
• Improve Your Neck Posture with the right pillow
• Travel Neck Pillow for a Person with Existing Neck and Shoulder Pain

 

 

How to Start a Neck Traction Protocol for a Military Neck

A military neck occurs when the cervical spine straightens out. There is little curve or no curve at all. Also known as hypolordosis of the cervical curve or a cervical kyphosis. Can you change this curvature in your neck? YES you can. Keep in mind, it takes time. The great thing is that it can immensely help neck pain symptoms as well.

What Does Military Neck Look Like on an X-ray?

For many patients, it occurs after years and years of bad posture, a whiplash type of accident, and improper sleeping habits. It can cause muscles spasms, stiff neck, neck pain and headaches. More severe type of symptoms can be numbness and tingling, weakness and shooting pains.

Neck Traction is a great way to get the curve back in your neck. You may have tried neck traction in your chiropractors, or physical therapists office, and it may offered you relief of your symptoms. Neck traction is also a great way to train the cervical spine to help get the curve back in your neck.

Start by just using a towel roll to help stretch out your neck. This costs you nothing, and helps your muscles get used to this pulling type of motion.

Using a Towel Roll is the First Step in Doing Neck Traction

 Second, get a gentle traction unit such as the omni cervical relief pillow (its not really a pillow) or the cervipedic neck support. Both of these units that I have mentioned basically cradle your neck in a comfortable type of foam. Your head and skull lay comfortably while your neck is being stretched. This is used by a lot of health practitioners in their offices to help patients stretch their necks out.

The Omni Cervical Relief Pillow is a Gentle Neck Traction Devide

Third, get a traction unit such as the posture pump or the pronex pneumatic traction unit, which gives you a greater stretch that you can control.

The Posture Pump Gives You More Pressure and Works to Change the Curvature of the Neck

 

Doing neck traction too quickly can create a lot of soreness. Frankly many patients get turned off because they decide to do a lot of stretching all at once which can cause a lot of pain and headaches.

If you start off with a towel roll, you can really start to notice a change in your symptoms. Do this for a few weeks.  Little by little, start using a device like the omni or cervi pedic. Use this for a few weeks. Then move to a posture pump type of traction unit. Once you start with the posture pump, build up to using greater pressure. Again, its not an overnight thing - do this over a few months of time. Work up to 20-25 minutes to neck traction.

Not only will you feel better, but you will also notice a change in your actual spine. 

Additional Reading:

• How to Use a Posture Pump Easily At Home
• Another Gentle way to do Traction: With a Pillow
• Choosing the Best Cervical Traction Device
• 5 Products You Can Use toe Stretch Your Neck for Pain Relief
• Neck Pain That Results from a C5, C6, C7, or C8 radiculopathy

 

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Behind Every Great Athlete is a Chiropractor

People don't always talk about it, but it is prevalent that many athletes see a chiropractor to enhance their performance at a sports activity. Golf, volleyball, gymnastics, Ninga Training, badminton, lacrosse, wrestling,  - you name it, there is a chiropractor lurking in the back ground helping this girl or guy reach his or her pinnacle. Helping their body achieve optimum function, no matter what sport.

 

With Chiropractic treatment:

• you can decrease wear and tear on the body
• can have treatment without medications
• have better performance
• have better flexibility
• increased energy

Studies have shown over and over that chiropractic only improves ones functional capacity, especially in the arena of sports.

In many sports, shoulder injuries can result. Chiropractic definitely helps with injured players shoulders. Studies from the Annals of Internal Medicine and the British Medical Journal both concluded adding shoulder manipulation to traditional rehab techniques showed outcome improvements and decreased pain associated with certain shoulder injuries.

A Duke University study (2001) showed improvement of headaches after chiropractic treatment. The study concluded that , “Spinal manipulation resulted in almost immediate relief for headaches originating from the neck.” Since 60 to 90 percent of all headaches are linked to facet joint pain (neck), chiropractic treatments offer a significant form of relief.

A joint study from the JMPT and Physiological Therapeutics found that chiropractic care of ankle sprains helped increase ankle motion, decrease pain and allows for better ankle function.

Finally, Chiropractic helps with Injury prevention in many sports. An study from Australia, published in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders,  reported that Australian football players who used a regiment of chiropractic care had a fewer number of leg injuries than those who did not.

“Chiropractic just makes you feel so much better. When I walk out of the clinic, I feel like I’m about three inches taller and everything’s in place. And as long as I see the chiropractor, I feel like I’m one step ahead of the game.”

- New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady

 

Additional Reading:

• Keeping Your Spine in Alignment allows for a better immune system
• How to use the traction side of the arc4life pillow for optimal function
• Treating the Military Neck and Loss of curvature
• Exercises to Get Rid of the Hunch Back Posture
• Why Deep Sleep is important for our brains and overall health

Study Shows that Tai Chi Can Help Patients with Chronic Neck Pain

Chronic Neck Pain can be one of those things that can impact your life on a daily basis. It may affect your ability to work, your ability to relax and do simple things around the house. Many patients often look for alternative treatment solutions that don't involve medications. One study this year looked at the relaxing sport of tai chi (if one can call it a sport). Perhaps more of a stretching routine ! According to a recent study, tai chi can help to relieve chronic neck pain. Researchers studied a group of participants who completed tai chi exercises for neck pain relief to a control group that did not receive any treatment. The study also compared to see if tai chi would be more beneficial than traditional neck exercises.

There were 114 neck pain sufferers in this study that lasted for 3 months. Co-author Peter M. Wayne explained, “The study results showed that 12 weeks of tai chi was more effective than no treatment to improve pain, disability, quality of life, and postural control in persons with chronic neck pain.”

Tai chi can be done by anyone because it a low impact type of exercise and can help focus and clear the mind. Specifically, it focuses on specific movements tied with breathing techniques, aiming to improve mobility, flexibility, and reduce pain. This makes it a great option for someone looking to find a solution for chronic neck pain relief.

Source: Chronic neck pain can be relieved with tai chi: Study

Additional Reading Resources:

• Neck Exercises
• Neck Stretches that You Can do At Home to Relieve Neck Pain
• Which Pillow is Best After my Neck Fusion Surgery?
• Join us on Facebook

Updated September 2020

Depression and Anxiety Common in Patients with Chronic Pain, Study shows

As a Chiropractor, patients would walk in typically with neck pain, back pain, headaches, herniated disc etc. They would also walk in with depression and anxiety. This was not usually "seen" in the first visit. It came out in conversation after a few visits and patients would get comfortable with speaking with me about what was going on.  Often times these patients also were suffering with chronic pain either in the neck or the back. Pain that was constantly there but just would not go away.

According to a Columbia university study that was published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, adults with two or more chronic diseases had an increased risk for a mood or anxiety disorder. 

For this study, 5000 adults who were suffering with anxiety and depression were asked about their health problems. Among those participants with a mood disorder: 50% of them reported chronic pain; 33% reported respiratory diseases; 10% reported heart disease; 9% reported arthritis and 7% reported diabetes.

Often times, pain can be an attributing factor to other things occuring in the body and health professionals need to take this into account when treating patients.

Source: Health Day News, July 2017

 

 

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Should I Use a Pillow when I Sleep on my Stomach?

Should I use a pillow when I sleep on my stomach?

Yes, use a pillow under your stomach and side area. If you use such a pillow, you will actually be sleeping on your side, not your stomach. The pillow under your stomach and torso area will feel like you are on your stomach. Here is an example of what I mean- this is called a teardrop pillow.

The Teardrop Pillow is made especially for people who must sleep on their stomachs to transition to a healthier sleeping posture.

Stomach sleeping is not recommended. It stresses your neck and shoulders, as well as your back and internal organs. Many patients actually wake up with a stiff neck because of sleeping on their stomach. Anatomically it is not healthy for your neck.  If you usually sleep on your stomach it can be very hard to change this habit because it is difficult to correct since stomach sleepers desire stomach warmth and support.

This special Pillow angles stomach sleepers off their stomachs while maintaining that reassuring feeling of warmth and support - helping you really sleep on your side - but you feel like you are sleeping on your stomach.

The Tear Drop Pillow is 6"x10"x28". It is composed of viscoelastic foam which makes it super comfortable and accomodating.

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How to Use a Simple Neck Stretcher at Home

The posture pump cervical traction unit is a simple, comfortable and effective traction unit. Here is a quick demonstration on how to use this neck stretcher easily at home. This neck stretcher provides relief for neck pain, pinched nerve in the neck, stiff neck, cervical radiculopathy, numbness and tingling, forward head posture, tightness in the neck, shoulders and upper back.

Updated: 4/24/2020

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Part II - What to Look for in a Cervical Traction System

In Part I of this blog post, we looked at what Exactly does neck traction do for you. Now lets delve a little deeper and look at some criteria to look at when purchasing a cervical traction device.

What should we look for when buying a cervical traction system?

• Is it simple to use and simple to set up?
• Are you comfortable while you are doing the neck traction?
• Can you comfortably do the neck traction while you are having neck discomfort?
• Does it put your neck into an optimal position during the traction session?
• Can you travel with the traction  unit?
• Does it give you sufficient traction and do you feel like your neck is being stretched?

Part I - Exactly How is Neck Traction Good for Your Neck

You need to choose the best cervical traction unit for your nagging neck pain and right hand numbness. Which unit do you choose? There are so many cervical traction units to choose from. First, lets start with what exactly does neck traction do?

• it restores the normal position of the spine
• it widens the intervertebral space - which is the space between each of the bones in the neck
• it decreases pressure on the spinal cord and the nerve root
• helps to reduce muscle spasms of the neck and shoulder muscles
• it increases blood circulation, joint flexibility and muscle strength
• it increases your neck range of motion.

Here is a great video demonstration on how the posture pump cervical device works:

In Part II of this blog post, we will look at what criteria to look for when purchasing a new traction unit. Also I will demonstrate how to use a Pronex Cervical Traction Unit, a popular neck tractioning device often recommended by chiropractors.  

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How to Help Relax the Upper Back and Neck Area...

What are some techniques for relaxing upper back + neck? I’m a rock climber, and I frequently strain muscles, ligaments, etc in the upper back starting at around T7 and going up to around C7/C6. It can range from close to the spine to under the shoulder blades. I need some techniques for releasing tension and maintaining this area after climbs.

There is a particular motion that many climbers too that can be the cause of neck pain and back pain. It is called belaying and often this has been called the belayer's neck. Many minutes and hours can be spent with the head thrown back and looking up, with much neck and upper back strain. There can also be a lot of neck and back twisting with this sport. 

There are many great way to help relax the neck and upper back area:

• Gentle neck traction- stretching the neck out either with a tractioning unit or even a simple rolled towel gives the nerves in the neck a chance to breathe, relax and be in an optimal position
• Breathing Exercises
• Meditation
• Massage - with focus on the suboccipital muscles, cervical paraspinals, trapezius and levator scapulae muscles
• Acupuncture
• Sleep on a comfortable pillow at night.
• Chiropractic for the cervical and thoracic spine 
• Trigger point therapy for neck and upper back/ mid back muscles - specifically for the climber ART technique or myofascial release (albeit painful) is helpful. 
• Neck stretching exercises
• Take breaks with climbing. Just a few minute break from the act of belaying can give your neck and back the rest that it needs.
• Strengthen your neck muscles (deep neck flexor muscles)

Picture Source: Blog - Protectivity

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