No Need to Have a Pain in the Neck
Have you ever woken up to find you couldn’t turn your head without a twinge of pain? Or maybe a sudden movement led to a day of moving like the Tin Man? Unfortunately, these neck pains are common for many people and can range from mild discomfort to complete debilitation. The neck is one of the areas most susceptible to the stresses of modern human life. Our modern lifestyles don’t often allow our bodies to move optimally, which over time can lead to dysfunction, chronic pain, and injury. Thankfully, A Life in Balance offers many solutions that can help.
A True Story
Beth is a patient of ours who maintains an active lifestyle. She enjoys running, hiking, and other active outdoor activities. She is also a musician, which requires carrying heavy equipment. Being active hasn’t prevented Beth from experiencing various bodily pains. One of Beth’s biggest takeaways from working with the therapists at A Life in Balance is how everything in the body is connected. This is an important realization when working with pain in the body. For example, Beth may have a strong body from her active lifestyle, but if there is dysfunction present due to something like sitting for long periods of time at work, she is likely to experience pain at some point. Running and carrying heavy equipment can lead to knee, shoulder, back, and of course neck pain.
Our bodies are masters of adapting to whatever we ask them to do. If we ask our bodies to run or carry heavy things, they will do whatever they can to make that happen. The downside of this is that if there is an area of the body that is not functioning optimally, the body will recruit other areas to compensate and achieve the goal. This is what generally leads to pain and injury.
The human body has developed in this way to ensure the survival of the species. If your leg was injured but you needed to outrun a lion, the body would recruit whatever muscles were necessary to allow you to run. This allows you to survive, but at the expense of certain areas of the body. In our modern world, we generally aren’t faced with outrunning lions. However, this same concept can be applied to a scenario like our patient Beth. If Beth tells her body to lift heavy things and hike up a mountain, her body will do it until it can’t. Beth’s pain began in her knees and then began to show up in other areas. This is common and a great example of how the body is interconnected.
Common Causes of Neck Pain
The neck is part of the spine; if there’s a problem with the spine, it will eventually show up in other areas of the body too. This emphasizes the importance of addressing your neck pain quickly and effectively. At A Life in Balance, we can offer you many ways to get your neck back on track. We will look at some of the most common causes, as well as some simple solutions that you can use at home and with your practitioner.
Did your mother ever tell you to sit up straight? It might not have seemed important at the time, but as we age the effects of poor posture on our bodies will begin to show up in ways that make us wish we had listened. One of the most common postural misalignments is a forward head position. You may have heard this referred to as “text neck.” If you’re reading this, you are either on your phone or at a computer. Take a moment now to notice the position of your head. It is likely that in your relaxed position, your head was at least slightly forward of your shoulders. For every inch your head position is forward, around twelve pounds of pressure is added to the neck. No wonder there is so much neck pain! Now add in the demands of running or lifting heavy things to an already taxed neck and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.
“Text neck,” isn’t the only cause of neck pain. Injury, dysfunction in other areas of the body, muscle weakness, poor sleeping habits, and many other factors can lead to pain in the neck. If an acute injury such as a car accident is to blame, working with one of our physical therapists will help you return to your pain-free state. If your neck pain is a result of a chronic condition that affects your daily life such as osteoporosis, working with our occupational therapists can help you find relief. If you suffer from chronic neck pain or occasionally experience acute neck pain, there are many options that can help you build a healthy, functional neck.
Neck Pain Relief
So what can you do to get your neck functioning optimally? Though the pain is around your neck, focusing on your core can really help! When your core is strong, your spine is supported properly and can more easily stay in alignment. An aligned spine will free you from experiencing many common bodily pains from head to toe.
Our patient Beth strengthened her core with our help, but that wasn’t all she did. She found relief from her pain through occupational therapy and physical therapy, as well as strengthened her core through Pilates exercises on and off of the reformer, chair, and springboard. Pilates and yoga are great ways to strengthen your core and get the body to move in a healthy and stable way.
Whether it’s a massage, movement, or therapy we can help you find freedom for your neck. The team at A Life in Balance can also teach you a variety of techniques and exercises to help you improve your neck function at home. Take Beth’s advice when it comes to addressing pain: “Don't wait to start, be patient, and trust the process. It will be worth it. Dr. Paula, Lauren, Meg, and Sarah are a solid team, and their slightly different approaches create a very well-rounded plan of care. And they're all a lot of fun!”
