Acute Neck Pain Instructions

According to American Pain Foundation, neck pain is the third most common type of pain. Over 70% of people had experienced symptoms of neck pain at some point in their lives.

Neck pain may be elicited by numerous causes such as strain injury, degenerative disc disease, pinched nerve, infection, fracture, swollen lymph nodes and even cancer.

Follow these guidelines when you experience acute incident of neck pain:

• Keep your head up at all times. When you allow your head to drop as in reading, knitting, sewing and performing desk tasks, you place further strains on the already over stretched or injured tissues.
• Maintenance of good posture is essential. Begin by  lifting your chest up and partially tucking your chin in.
• Do not roll your head around and avoid quick movements especially turning the head quickly.
• Avoid those positions and movements that initially caused our problems. You must allow some time for healing to take place.
• Do not sleep with more pillows than necessary. If you are comfortable with one pillow, then use only one. The content of the pillow should adjustable in order to provide a proper support and comfort for your neck.
• When you remain uncomfortable at night, you may benefit from a supportive roll.
• Do not sleep face down, as this places greater strain on the neck.
• Do not “stretch your pain out”. Neck and upper back pain may feel muscular in nature, but can have a different nature. Self stretching may cause further injury n the deeper ligaments and joint tissues are involved.
• Find positions of “centralization”, where your symptoms are closer to your spine. Avoid positions that cause the symptoms to move further away from your spine and down to your arm.
• Ice the area frequently (every 2 hours for 15 minutes) if the pain fairly constant in nature and area is inflamed. Heat will make inflammation and swelling worse.
• If no relieve from pain is achieved within first two days, consult with your health care practitioner