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No More Neck Pain ! Simple Tips To Keep A Healthy Neck

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How to Prevent Neck Pain from Ruining Your Life- Get Steps Now to Be Healthy

Having a Kink in the neck can be a big pain in the neck ! When it happens, you think to yourself- why did I do that? How could I let this happen? Why? Because Neck Pain affects every activity that you do. Simple things like driving, talking on the phone (and the cell phone), doing dishes, picking up your kids, even sleeping- all these activities that take for granted sometimes. Neck Pain throws a wrench into everything. Its seems like it is relentless too- seems like it will never go away.

This Squidoo lens talks about how to prevent neck pain from ruining your life. Tips you can use everyday to maintain a healthy, pain free neck.

Table of Contents

Tip #1 Watch Your Neck Posture

Be wary of forward head posture

This is one of the most important tips for maintaining a Pain Free Neck. Having good neck posture is key. Preventing things like forward head posture can stop muscle spasm, neck pain, kinks in the neck etc. Forward head posture happens when during the most mundane tasks: watching tv, driving a car, working on the computer. If your head juts out too much- your head is too forward - you are putting too much stress on your neck muscles and upper back muscles. You can do head retraction exercises to help get rid of forward head posture or also use a posture pulley neck exerciser.

How to Deal with Forward Head Posture

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Tip #2 Don't Keep Your Head and Neck in one position for too long

If you talk on the phone for hours on head with your head to one side, this is for you

Any type of repetitive motion, such as talking on the phone, or keep your head bend forward while using your cell phone can cause neck pain. Again, you are stressing your neck muscles and ligaments. Wearing a head set is recommended and also taking breaks is important as well.

Tip #3 Don't Sleep On Your Stomach

Not the healthiest sleeping Position

This position puts un necessary stress on your neck. Imagine your poor neck gets cranked to one side which puts a tremendous amount of stress on the neck and upper back. This is how many people wake up with a stiff neck.

Tip #4 Don't Sleep With Too Many Neck Pillows

Sleeping with too many neck pillows is not a good idea because this is the wrong position for your neck. It just your head and neck forward, thus putting strain on your neck muscles and upper back area.

Tip #5 Use a contoured neck pillow

Using a contoured neck pillow, such as the cervical traction neck pillow allows you to have the proper C Curve in your neck while sleeping. A good neck pillow should enable you to sleep on your back or on your side with no issues. One neck pillow that is Doctor recommended is the cervical traction neck pillow. It is a dual functioning neck pillow: for support and for traction. This neck pillow gives your cervical spine gentle neck traction when sleeping the "V" traction part of the pillow. This is great for patients who have neck pain due to a herniated disc, bulging disc or degernation in the neck spine.

A Neck Pillow For Neck Pain

Also available at www.arc4life.com and www.neckpainreliefkit.com

You spend approximately 1/3 of your life sleeping. Are you getting the most out of your sleep? Use the #1 NECK PILLOW. The Cervical Linear Traction Neck Pillow can help restore the normal neck C- curve, help you improve your posture, and relieve back and neck pain. The Cervical Linear Traction Neck Pillow offers superior comfort, and provides the proper ergonomic support while you sleep- there is nothing like it on the market. It is non-allergenic, machine machine washable, latex free and fits most standard pillow cases. Used by chiropractors and health professionals all over the world! The special "V" shape in the neck pillow cradles your head and gently lifts your head away from your shoulders (much like a massage therapist would do for you). At the same time, the neck roll underneath supports your neck. While sleeping on your side, the generous, soft wings keep your head at the right height from the mattress, to relieve strain on your neck and shoulders. It works for you, sleeping on your back or side.The pressure releases, muscles relax and pain goes away. Designed to work for back and side sleepers. Flip top to bottom to use the neck roll support only. You can use the pillow every night and for the whole time you sleep. The more you can use it the better. However, some individuals may need to gradually increase the usage in stages because of some muscle soreness from such a change from their previous pillow. The Cervical Traction Neck Pillow is comfortable-it is hand stuffed with the best polyester fiber available- its non allergenic and calibrated to the most universally accepted firmness for balance of softness and effectiveness. Use the traction side for sleeping- thus giving your cervical spine a gentle stretch or the support side for sleepi
Arc4life Cervical Linear Traction Neck Pillow

Arc4life Cervical Linear Traction Neck Pillow

Amazon Price: $67.85 (as of 02/22/2012)Buy Now

This neck pillow is worth spotlighting for many reasons:


  • Great for side and back sleepers
  • Traction Side helps to give your neck a gentle stretch while sleeping
  • Support Side allows you to maintain the proper c curve during sleep
  • Comfortable, made of polyester fiber fill
  • Not to Firm like a foam pillow - Not super soft like a feather pillow
  • Made in the USA
  • Great for patients who have neck pain due to a herniated disc, pinched nerve in the neck, or bulging disc
  • Great for patients with arthritis or degeneration in the cervical spine vertebrae
  • Works well in conjunction with a home traction unit

How to Choose the Right Neck Pillow

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Tip #6 Stretch Your Neck

Just like any other area in the body we need to stretch to prevent injury and also to elongate the muscles. For example we often stretch our hamstrings before running. Our neck muscles get a workout daily from simple things like computer work, driving, even talking on the phone. We need to stretch to keep those muscle flexible. This prevents muscle strain or spams when doing one of these activities. Neck Stretches can be done easily everyday for a few minutes a day !

Pain is never permanent.

-Saint Teresa of Avila

Tip #7 Strengthen Your Neck with Exercise

Keeping the neck muscles strong will also help to prevent neck injury such as a whiplash. Specific exercises help to balance the muslces by strengtening the weak musculature.These exercises can help to retrain posture and spinal alignment which helps keeps pressure off of nerves, hence reduces neck pain.

Tip #8 Get Your Spine Aligned Regularly

Getting our neck aligned by the chiropractor is important to maintain a healthy neck. Maintain optimal alignment in your neck with the proper c-curve means that your nervous system is functioning optimally. Your chiropractor can also send you for neck x-rays to see what type of neck curve you have. For example, having a straight neck spine also called a military neck can be the cause of a lot of neck pain and stiffness.

Tip #9 Keep Your Neck in Mind When Sneezing or Vomiting

Avoid Continued strenous neck positions.

You might laugh at this tip- but all these actions can throw your neck out. A violent sneeze can cause neck pain that will last for days. You can easily strain your neck muscles if you are in the wrong position when sneezing. As we talked about before in this lens, having a forward head posture or bad neck posture can be the cause of neck pain. If your head is forward when you sneeze, you can strain the muscles in your neck and upper back even further. It is important to be in a neutral head position if you have cough or sneeze.

How Long will Pain Last?

Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever. - Lance Armstrong

Tip #10 Massage Your Neck Muscles

Massaging our neck muscles is important to keeping them loose and tension free. Muscles such as the suboccipitals can lead to headaches and neck pain when they are tight. Tension in these muscles will feel like a know and you will feel pain if you press directly on it. Going to a massage therapist or chiropractor for trigger point therapy will help relax your neck muscles.

There are also gels and creams you can use for working out the neck muscles; depending on if you want hot or cold therapy. For cold therapy you can use biofreeze and for warming therapy you can use sombra cream.

Tip #11 Manage Your Stress

Many People Carry A lot of Stress In Their Necks

Ever notice that when you get stressed out you feel it in your neck, you upper back and shoulder area? For many people this is where their body tenses up during a stressful event. Therefore, managing our stress appropriately is vital if we are to stop neck pain. Other things that you can do to manage your stress well is to breathe, to exercise and think positively.

Tip #12 Mind Your Neck when Dancing, Listening to Music...and head banging

You may laugh at this Tip, but I have seen a patient that came in with severe neck pain after he was head banging to his favorite rock song ! Also, it is possible to whiplash your neck if you flex forward and backwards rapidly enough over and over again. Combine that with alcohol or other things, you could have serious pain the next morning. Its just not worth it. Your poor neck muscles are not cut out for that.

Get rid of Neck Pain Once and For All

Neck Pain Relief Links

Neck Pillows | Neck traction | Hot and Cold Therapy for Neck Pain
The Neck Pain Relief Shop is dedicated to Neck pain Relief Products
The Neck Pain Support Blog
Expert Advice on Neck Pain Issues
The Different Types of Disc Problems That May Cause Neck Pain.
Herniated Disc, Bulging Disc, My Disc Blew Out...What does this all Mean?
Understand How Neck Traction Works
Posture Pump, trac Collar, Pronex, Over the Door Traction, which Traction Unit is Best for Me?
Neck Exercises
Neck Stretches and Strengthening Exercises
Remedy For A Stiff Neck
What you Can Do For A Stiff Neck

More Neck Pain Relief Products To Help you

Products on Amazon.com Dedication to Neck Pain

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Books for Neck Pain Relief

Check Out Amazon selection of neck pain relief books

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