3 Tips to Help with Neck Pain

Neck Pain is something we see on a weekly basis at our Physiotherapy Clinic in Stewarton. So many people put up with relentless neck pain that disturbs their sleep, or stops them from being able to concentrate at work. Some people even end up with bad headaches as a result. It can be very debilitating. In our experience, there are some strategies that can help most people struggling with neck pain.

Here are our top 3 tips:

  • Be mindful of sustained postures - the length of time will vary for everyone, but in general, breaking up periods of sustained sitting or standing with a different posture, can help ease neck pain. Imagine if you clenched your fist for a long time, the muscle in your hand would start to ache pretty quickly. The same happens with our neck muscles when held in the same position! Become more fidgety!

  • Set a reminder to move on your laptop, phone or watch - its easy to get carried away when you’re focussed on a task. Having a external reminder to move can make a massive difference. As a general rule, we get people to test how long it takes to feel sore, thats our limit. Take this limit and take some time off this number - set your timer for this length of time. For example, say you get sore after 30 minutes of sitting, set your reminder for every 20 minutes. The goal is to increase this over time

  • Pillow height - look at your current pillow height and determine if it could be forcing your to hold your neck is an awkward position as you sleep. Ideally, we want to aim for having our head supported in a neutral position.

We also have a FREE Neck & Shoulder Pain Guide that you can download HERE for some more tips on neck pain relief.

Ryan Barr