Neck pain is a common complaint that physiotherapists see. In order to maintain a healthy neck, you can use the following tips:
1. Practice curve reversal frequently in daily life
If you have held your neck in one position, immediately stretch it in the opposite direction.
Maintain Good Spinal Mobility
If one or more of your spinal movements are stiff, you need to stretch the stiff movement(s) 50 to 100 times a day for around 6 weeks to regain a good degree of flexibility.
2. Pay attention to your spinal posture in daily life. Especially sitting posture:
- Avoid very soft chairs or sofas
- Keep the lumbar curve of your back well supported
- Try not to cross your legs at the knees, cross at the ankles
- Avoid pillows and cushions that push your head forward when sitting
3. After heavy physical work, do not sit down to rest, lie down instead
4. If your lifestyle is sedentary, increase your general activity level
5. Use good lifting techniques:
- Keep your chin tucked in (head retraction) during the lift
6. Recognise your early warning signs of neck strain
- Stiffness after sitting or first thing in the morning after a nights rest
- Occasional minor twinges
- Feeling as if your neck is weak, or your head is heavy
- Feeling like you’ve pulled a muscle
7. When early warning signs are present, start self-treating for 24hrs
- Reduce the amount of sitting that you are currently doing
- When sitting, make sure that your low back is supported
- When sleeping at night, make certain that your head and neck are properly supported by your pillow
- Do not sit longer than 5-10 minutes without getting up and moving around
- Commence exercises that helped previously. Do the sets of 10-15 repetitions every 1-2 hours
If you are no better after 24 hours, or you think you are getting worse, please call your closest Core Physiotherapy for advice.