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Neck Pain Relief - How To Treat A Stiff Neck

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It's A Pain In The Neck!

Neck pain and stiff neck are two of the most common problems today. A result of poor lifestyles and sedentary jobs, neck pain can often lead to even more problems and can be a sign that you need to change something desperately.
While in many cases it goes away on its own, most people require additional Neck Pain Relief to allow them to work at their optimum levels.

To understand best ways to bring about neck pain relief, it is first important to understand what causes neck pain.

The Neck Muscle And Why You Get A Stiff Neck...

In most cases, a stiff neck causes pain when one tries to turn the head sideways. This is because of the condition of the muscle that connects the neck and the shoulder, known as the levator scapula.
This muscle extends from the middle of the neck (just above the vertebra end)to the tip of the shoulder, allowing the head to be turned without turning the body. As such, this muscle needs to be flexible since it needs to perform a twisting motion and contract at the same time.

When holding it contracted for a long time, you run the danger of leaving it unable to be as flexible. Holding a cell phone for a long time with your head cocked to one side, for example, can result in a shortening of the muscle that needs a few hours of a good massage to loosen up. This leaves your neck stiff and unable to move as much. Additionally, moving it forcibly causes pain since you run the risk of tearing the muscle.

At the core, all neck stiffness and pain results from holding a posture or neck position for too long. Obviously, the longer the neck is held in such a position, the stiffer it is and the more it will hurt. As such, the most common causes of a Stiff Neck are sleeping in the wrong posture, long drives, working long hours at the computer (or another sedentary job), using a wrong sized cane, walking a considerably heavy dog using only one arm and so on.
Some other indirect factors include excess stress since it causes the shoulder muscles to be unnecessarily tightened.

How Often Do You Experience A Stiff Neck?

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How To Prevent And Treat Neck Stiffness And Pain

Neck pain relief is rather easy to get if you know how...

The key to getting rid of neck pain and neck stiffness is giving your neck muscles the time and the opportunity to relax, expand and become flexible again.
As such, most neck pain and stiffness does not require special treatment and is relieved by the body itself in a few hours or days. Of course, this requires that the cause of the stiff neck in the first place be eliminated.
The most common causes of this are, as noted earlier, poor posture due to unsuitable beds and pillows, unsupported car seats, and sedentary jobs.

It's quite easy to fix this issue simply by replacing your pillows with a Neck Pillow that gives greater support to your neck and ensures that one side of the muscle is not over-shortened while sleeping. Similar measures can be taken for other issues, such as a car seat support, or office chair support.

Additionally, undertaking some basic exercises every hour or so to help stretch the muscles will help neck pain from occurring.

Other than this, there are a few more forms of neck pain. However, these are classified as more severe in nature and may require additional treatment. These include - pinched nerves, herniated disc, whiplash related effects, neck injury (from sports and such) and neck arthritis. These should never be ignored and if your neck pain does not subside in 2-4 days, you should consider having it looked at.

Important Information About Neck Pain That You Should Be Aware Of...

Stiff Neck
All you need to know about Stiff Neck and what to do about it!
Neck Exercises
Some basic exercises you can undertake to find relief from neck pain.
Neck Pain Relief
Your resource for complete information, devices, exercises and equipment to help combat and eliminate neck pain.

What Is The Biggest Reason For Your Stiff Neck?

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What Is The One Thing You Would Change In Your Life To Get Rid Of Neck Pain?

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My pillow

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my reading habits

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my bed

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my car seat support

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my office chair support

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my posture

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my excerise routine

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Pain In Jaw

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Various Causes Of Neck Pain And How To Treat A Stiff Neck

  • Stress that causes tense or aggressive posture.

    The only way to get rid of stress is really to change your lifestyle and get some time during the day to relax. Other than a stiff neck, stress can cause a variety of other problems too.

    Solution : change your lifestyle, get some time to relax, get more exercise and if possible get regular massages.
  • Basic Posture - Dropping the neck forward while walking, or maintaining a "tense" posture often causes a stiff neck. Some of the other issues include using a cane that is too long, tilting the head to one side too much, wearing lopsided headphones, carrying too heavy of a backpack or carrying it on just one shoulder and some others.

    Solution : Avoid shortening of one side of the neck muscle by maintaining proper posture and by getting regular posture releasing exercise throughout the day.
  • The Bed and the pillows - Too soft and too hard surfaces can lead to a stiff neck and pain. With too soft surfaces, your head "sinks in", leading to the shortening of neck muscles on one side over the other. Using too hard pillows or bed leads to a lop-sided sleeping posture during the night.

    Solution : Change your bed or pillows. In most cases just switching to the right pillow will help. Place the pillow at the base of the neck instead of the middle of the head when sleeping, or get a basic neck pillow to help prevent and treat bad posture while sleeping.
  • Unsupported chairs and seats - sitting for a long time in an unsupported chair or seat, especially when you have to hold your head in a relatively static position can lead to neck pain.

    Neck pain relief : Get a support for the neck or take frequent breaks during long drives, or while working at the computer.
  • Sports : Playing too hard or using jerky motions instead of stable smooth strokes can cause pain and even severe injuries. The games most likely to affect the neck are the ones where a swinging motion is involved. Such as tennis, baseball, cricket, raquetball and so on. Other sports that require throwing hard can also cause similar problems.

    Solution : Stretch well before any bout and take your time while playing. Slow down and if needed take a break and massage your neck.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Let me know here!

  • adjustabedsonline Apr 25, 2012 @ 10:28 am | delete
    I just saw an image on Facebook yesterday that said for each inch forward your head is (due to improper posture), about 10 extra pounds of pressure is exerted on the lower neck/ upper back region. Anyway, love the Lens! I've been very interested in this topic for a couple days now. Always happy to find good info!
  • asteel14 Jan 24, 2012 @ 12:24 pm | delete
    The right pillows are definitely the key to avoiding neck pain. Regular neck exercises to strengthen the muscles also helps a lot too.
  • Winston11 Nov 14, 2011 @ 5:06 am | delete
    Hi
    You have reached the Number One source for all of the best Cell Phone Covers on the Internet, where you can find accessories for virtually any mobile device. We're here to provide you with a convenient way to review and purchase all of the latest accessories for your mobile device. Of course each accessory has it's role and some are more important than others, but if it had to be one we'd have to recommend one of our many protective accessories, not only will it keep your phone safe and functional, but it will give a fresh new look and feel with all of their designs.http://www.elitextreme.com/covers.html
  • ClinicallySignificantProductions Sep 15, 2010 @ 3:34 pm | delete
    A high quality cervical comfort pillow can work wonders to avoid neck pain after sleeping. I absolutely love mine...I prefer a memory foam contour type pillow, but there are many types available. You may have to try a few before you find "the one" but once you find it you'll be forever grateful!
  • coolblueuk Sep 15, 2010 @ 3:46 am | delete
    For those with sever neck and back problems an adjustable bed may be the answer
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Neck Pain Products

Doctor Recommended for Neck Pain Relief

Special Air Neck Traction Offer!The Air Neck Traction is an inflatable collar or neck brace that provides enough traction to take pressure off pinched nerves, compressed discs and stiff neck muscles.


It is adjustable for neck size and made of a soft and flexible material. Easily deflates for traveling and weights less than a pound for traveling convenience and can be used anywhere.

Traction has been used for many years, but it has never been so easy to use and effective for neck pain relief.

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