My Neck Hurts! – Easy Tips on Relieving Neck Pain
Have you ever woken up to an irritating, sharp pain in the neck? Perhaps you felt this after a gruesome and sleepless night? Don’t worry, almost everybody has had felt this sensation once or twice in their lives. Commonly called a “crick in the neck”, this type of neck pain is often caused by awkward use of cushions and pillows, and/or uncomfortable or unnatural body positions. This in turn leads to muscle spasm – though there are a minimal number of cases wherein cricks are actually diagnosed differently (arthritis, disk related pain, cervical radiculopathy, to name a few). Nevertheless, if not treated properly, cricks can lead to even more serious neck injuries.
So how does one treat this “crick in the neck”? Don’t worry, stretch out your neck to these quick and easy tips:
Ice, Ice Baby
Ice therapy or treatment is the best way to treat cricks. The cooling sensation done by ice is effective on relieving muscle spasm pain. Physical therapists normally advise on using ice 48 to 72 hours after the pain has started. The most common way on using ice is with a plastic bag. Simply fill out a plastic bag with crushed ice. Then, wrapping the iced bag in a towel, rub the cold object onto the inflamed area. Make sure to constantly move the ice, though. You wouldn’t want to end up having frostbite!
A Good Rubdown
Sometimes, a simple and gentle rubdown is all it takes to take out the neck pain. You can even do this yourself – by crossing an arm in front of your body, you can allow the tip of your palm to reach out on your back shoulder. Then, you can slowly apply pressure – circular, rhythmically – at your back and neck area. Relief can instantly be felt, and can be done just as much as you desire. Still, you may want to get an expert to do the massage for you. Just make sure to properly communicate with your therapist what part of your neck needs the massage.
Medication is the Key
Good old-fashioned pain relief is found over-the-counter. There are two kinds of medicines commonly prescribed to relieve cricks – acetaminophen and NSAIDs. The latter has a slight advantage over acetaminophen-type of medications, wherein NSAIDs can help control inflammatory damage. Regardless of which medication you do choose, make sure to get your doctor’s advice and prescription first.
Having a crick in the neck can easily be treated. Using ice to relieve muscle spasm pain will let you rap Ice, Ice Baby to your delight. Having proper pressure applied by means of massage therapies will give you the comfort your neck deserves. And having the right kinds of drugs to counter cricks will effectively let you say bye-bye to neck pain. BY having these tips on mind, you can sure have a great neck-stretching time.