How to Relieve Neck Pain

What helps quickly against neck pain?

Some people have neck pains almost all their lives, some just get them every now and then and don’t know how to get rid of them quickly. The following is a short list of measures that always help me when the neck pain strikes.

Exercise

Since my neck pain is usually caused by too little movement, bad posture and tense muscles (this is the case with most people who suffer from neck pain), exercise is the best way to get rid of the neck pain.

  • Doing sports,
  • Leisure activities with the children,
  • Dancing,
  • Take a walk and
  • even housework
  • help to warm up muscles, relieve tension and fight neck pain.

Warmth

A hot shower on the appropriate place helps me especially well against tensions and neck pain. But it should be 10min already. The warmth relaxes the muscles. I even go one step further and stretch my neck under the hot shower. This is especially effective against neck pain.

Ointments and gels

Local application of an ointment or gel to the painful muscle area can be helpful very quickly. The active ingredient diclofenac, for example, is available in the form of ointments or gels (e.g. Voltaren pain gel forte) as well as tablets. The advantage of preparations that can be used externally is that they are better tolerated than tablets, which should not be taken longer than three days at a time without medical consultation.

The Voltaren pain gel alleviates muscle and joint pain and can provide rapid relief for neck and back pain, tension and lumbago or make the pain more bearable due to a herniated disc. If it is no longer possible to bend the head forward, a doctor should absolutely be consulted, because then an infectious disease could be present.

Painkillers

If you seldom have neck pain and it is acute, you can easily relieve it with painkillers such as aspirin or ibuprofen. Since neck pain usually lasts only a few days, the pain can then be alleviated. The other quick measures against neck pain should nevertheless be taken into account. Attention: Do not use painkillers longer than 3 days at a time and not more than 10 days a month and if possible check with your doctor.

Stretching

Long stretching of the corresponding muscle groups relaxes them immediately. I do this several times a day when I have neck pain. Best after getting up (under the hot shower), at noon and in the evening watching TV.

Self Massage

As I also get a backache to my neck pain, I have found a self-massage for myself that immediately relieves the pain. To do this, use your index finger and middle finger to massage the muscle strand leading from the ear downwards. Attention: But do not massage the carotid artery. This muscle is responsible for the small neck muscles as well as for back pain. But also the trapezius muscle can be massaged super itself. This is responsible for neck tension in most people.

Manual therapy

With the help of manual therapy, which can be a great support for cramped neck muscles and pain, hardened and tense muscle structures and joint blocks can be loosened. The physiotherapist treats the muscles and connective tissue with great pressure. Several treatments are necessary. The therapist will show the patient the necessary exercises for an effective treatment of neck pain so that he can continue them at home to avoid future complaints. Manual therapy is often combined with heat treatment to alleviate neck pain even more effectively.

Acupressure

With acupressure, a good possibility of self-treatment, neck pain can also be alleviated. Here, the two points between the neck muscles left and right of the cervical spine are pressed with warm fingers for one minute. At the beginning, the treatment begins gently before becoming evenly stronger. With acupressure, the pain can be relieved somewhat and it is also possible to improve the mobility of the neck. In case of prolonged discomfort, the points can be pressed up to three times a day.

Targeted rest

In acute neck pain, rest can help. It is advisable to lie down briefly on the floor with your eyes closed for five minutes each, lying on your stomach and back. The neck and shoulders remain loose. At the same time stress is reduced and your own centre is found, which is also possible through autogenic training, meditation or walks in the air. This can have a positive effect on the neck muscles.

Breathing exercises can provide rapid relief

Breathing exercises can help against neck pain, as the neck muscles are relaxed in a targeted manner. All great meditative movement teachings, especially from Asia, use breathing exercises as an important instrument, for example Yoga, Tai-Chi and Qigong.

But breath also plays a decisive role in modern relaxation methods such as autogenic training or progressive muscle relaxation. There are very simple breathing exercises and no aids are needed: The shoulders are pulled towards the ears when inhaled and lowered when exhaled. Sometimes it also helps to consciously “breathe” into the painful region and stretch. This could relieve neck pain.

Cold

Cold like a handful of ice cubes put in a bag and placed on the painful area for 15 to 20 minutes can be especially helpful for acute neck pain, for example in case of overload. Another possibility is to place a cherry stone pillow in a freezer compartment for 30 to 45 minutes so that it has a pleasant cooling effect or to wrap a towel around a cool gel compress and place it on the painful area.

Alternatively, a towel can be immersed in cold water and placed on the neck. The cold treatment numbs the nerves, which react especially to painful stimuli. If the complaints result from an inflammation, heat can even worsen and intensify the problem.

Proven home remedies for neck pain

Old proven household remedies are gladly taken over from one generation to the next. Also with neck pain there are different possibilities in this connection, for example:

A warm curd compress that is placed on the painful area: For this purpose, the clean cloth is coated with about 5 mm quark, another kitchen cloth is placed on top and the whole thing folded again.

Kirschstein bag: It is warmed up in the oven and then placed on the painful area.

St. John’s wort oil stain: Sprinkle a piece of pressed cotton wool with St. John’s wort oil, place it on the neck and cover the cotton wool with a cloth.

  • Warmed hayflower sack
  • hot shower relaxes the neck and prevents tensions
  • Ointment with Arnica or Devil’s Claw
  • as a contrast to heat, ice cubes wrapped in a cloth (never apply to the skin without a cover)

Natural home remedies relieve neck pain in a gentle way because they contain no chemicals and are usually free of side effects when used and selected correctly. A healthy diet with important nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids can also help prevent hardening and muscle problems in the neck. Ideal foods include green leafy vegetables, legumes, whole grain products and walnuts. Fragrance oils such as lavender, chamomile or marjoram are suitable for people who suffer from tension or neck pain in connection with mental stress. They can be used, for example, as a bath additive or massage oil.

Neck pillows as a permanent solution to neck pain

A suitable neck pillow is the optimal solution for declaring war on chronic neck pain and eliminating it permanently. The beneficial effect has been known for a long time. It is a big problem that many people do not keep their spine straight while sleeping due to a wrong pillow. The body is not sufficiently supported by the wrong sleeping position and a kink occurs in the spine.

The ideal solution to prevent this is a neck pillow or neck support pillow/health pillow. This can prevent pain and tension. They are not only suitable for acute complaints, but also as a long-term solution. The spine is thus optimally supported as the shoulders do not rest on it and the cervical spine does not bend at an unnatural angle.

When using a neck support pillow, the shoulders lie on the mattress and the head on the pillow. This ensures a natural angle so that the spine and surrounding muscles can relax. This is hardly possible with conventional pillows because the neck is not supported. The shoulders also lie on the pillow so that the neck area is not relieved. An orthopaedic neck support pillow is sometimes unusual at first, but most people don’t want to miss it after just a few days.

Conclusion

If you consider these simple measures, you will quickly get rid of neck pain and can go through everyday life painlessly. What you should not do under any circumstances is to spare yourself. A gentle posture has an exactly negative effect on neck pain. They are thereby only intensified.