Ever Wake Up with a Stiff Neck?
What happens when you wake up with a stiff neck in the mornings? Well quite frankly it can be a pain in the neck. You cannot turn your head because it is too painful- it is just an uncomfortable situation. This hubpage talks about what to do for a stiff neck at home naturally. When you have a stiff neck, all you are thinking about is how to get rid of it. How to get back to being pain free in the neck area.
What causes a stiff neck?
A stiff neck can be caused by many things- many simple things actually. First a stiff neck can occur when we sleep in any awkward position. Sleeping in a recliner, on a sofa or on a bed that is too small can cause one to sleep in an weird position, thus leading to stiffness, pain and tightness in the neck muscles. Also, your pillow plays a roll. If you sleep with no pillow, or use too much pillow under your neck, that can be the reason for a stiff neck in the morning. Finally, sleeping position plays a roll; sleeping on ones stomach can cause neck pain. Many people grew up sleeping on their stomach, and continuing this is not healthy for the cervical spine or the neck muscles.
How Can you treat a stiff neck naturally, without medication?
- One of the first things is to use a heating pad on the neck. You can also take a hot shower and stick your neck under the hot shower. This will help to loosen up the muscles. Now at the same time, do some gentle neck stretches. You won't be able to move your head and neck a lot , but just do what you can.
- Other things that work well for a stiff neck is sombra warming gel. This pain relief gel can be applied to the neck muscles such as the cervical paraspinals and the suboccipital muscles. This can also loosen up the muscles and help to decrease pain.
- Do Neck stretches at home.
- Get a chiropractic adjustment. A chiropractor can treat your neck without drugs.They can do gentle mobilization, neck traction, give you specific exercise and do a cervical adjustment to restore the motion and function in your spine.
- Other treatments that can help with treatment of a stiff neck are acupuncture and massage therapy.
What can I do to prevent getting a stiff neck in the first place.
There are a few recommendations to prevent getting a stiff neck in the first place. First use a neck pillow to sleep. By this i mean a contoured neck pillow, such as the arc4life linear gravity neck pillow that provides proper neck support while you are sleeping. Second, don't sleep on your stomach. IT is a no no. If you do sleep on your stomach, get a special pillow that will make you start sleeping on your side such as the tear drop pillow. Finally, get your neck regularly adjusted so that you can keep proper neck alignment.
Use a cervical neck pillow at night to prevent stiff neck.
Additional Reading Resources:
- Choose the Best Neck Pillow for Neck Pain
- Home of the Arc4life Cervical Linear Traction Neck Pillow
- A Water Pillow Recommended by Chiropractors
- Severe Neck Pain From a Herniated Disc? What Are Your Treatment Options?
- The Hunchback Posture: How to correct this area of your upper back that sticks out!
i’m always waking up with a stiff neck, at first i just put up with it but it made me grumpy in the mornings, so i eventually invested in a memory foam mattress and pillow and so far there’s been such an improvement. i’m a pretty awkward sleeper and i never have one set comfy sleeping position like most people, so its good for giving all round support. also when I get home from work i have a stiff neck too and your tip on using a heating pad then following with gentle neck stretches has worked wonders.
Stiff neck is a common problem among people young and old. It is caused by sudden neck movements or jerks or by bad posture or sleeping position.