If you experience stiffness in the morning, widespread pain in the neck area, and pain in turning your head from side to side, then you may have an inflamed neck. You're in good company: in recent years, several studies have reported that as many as 6 in 10 people in Italy suffer from neck pain, bringing to 15 million the number of individuals who, in one way or another, must seek medical care.
Unfortunately, neck pain is mainly the result of modernity: when it is not a consequence of physical trauma, in fact, it is in sedentariness, office work, the many hours spent in front of the PC, and bad habits that the origins must be sought.
The good news is that neck pain can be relieved and, more importantly, prevented.
The causes of neck pain
Cervicalgia, this is the clinical name for neck pain, can depend on numerous factors, some of which are non-modifiable, such as age, general health conditions, and degeneration of intervertebral discs, and others modifiable, such as posture, habits, and stress.
Also identified among the causes of neck pain are cold blows, humidity, sports activities that subject the neck to excessive strain, and the use of unsuitable pillows that force the head into incorrect positions.
To better understand the nature of neck pain, physicians rely on this classification:
- traumatic causes - All cervicalgia resulting from whiplash, car accidents, or neck blows fall into this category.
- mechanical causes - may sound strange, but dental malocclusion, scoliosis, flat feet, and thoracic rather than diaphragmatic breathing can also cause neck pain.
- metabolic causes - In this case, the culprit of the inflamed neck will be metabolism. Excessive weakening of muscle mass, in fact, adversely affects posture and neck movements, generating neck pain.
- neurological causes - as already mentioned stress can also contribute to the onset of neck pain, just as anxiety can also set itself up as one of the causes of cervicalgia.
Neck pain: symptoms
If you are thinking about suffering from cervicalgia, it is most likely because you are experiencing widespread pain at the level of the neck. In fact, among the symptoms of an inflamed neck is precisely pain, which can vary from mild to intense. In the first case, it will just be a tension at the base of the neck, which can sometimes generate an unpleasant feeling of impediment in performing even the simplest actions. In the second, it may even assume intensities that are difficult to bear, to the point of being perceived as actual pain.
Neck pain also may be accompanied by compression of the nerves in the neck area, generating numbness, tingling sensation in the hands and arms, burning along the upper back, and a general sense of weakness in the limbs.
As cervicalgia worsens, the complaints will also increase. Headaches of cervical origin, nausea, and dizziness are very common and, when associated with neck pain, indicate that you have reached the point of no return: now it is precisely necessary to intervene with the most appropriate remedies for neck pain.
Remedies for neck pain
Giving in to neck pain is never a good idea, especially because usually, if the most appropriate countermeasures are not taken in time, it will eventually increase in frequency and intensity.
In some cases, analgesics are essential, but the best pain reliever for neck pain remains movement. Among the remedies for neck pain, in fact, neck mobilization is one of the most effective. Neck pain is in fact caused by crushing the vertebrae in the neck, so your first thought should be to spread them apart again, preventing friction between them from causing protrusions or hernias.
Enrolling in a Pilates class is always a good idea, but if you lack time, you can also opt for simple neck exercises that you can do even while at the office or at home while watching TV.
Posture, then, will be crucial. No use doing exercises, consulting doctors, taking medications, if you then force your head and neck into unnatural positions. Control the position of your head, which must always remain straight, while accommodating the normal physiological curve of the neck. Relax your shoulders, preventing them from contracting, fueling neck pain. Do not cross your legs when sitting and, at all times of the day, be aware of the position of your spine, trying to correct any forward or backward imbalance.
It is understood that all these tips on how to fight neck pain also contribute to its prevention: because as mentioned, the main cause of cervicalgia is sedentariness, so getting used from a very young age to taking care of one's neck is an imperative for anyone who cares about their well-being.
Just as one last piece of advice applies to everyone: you need to choose a neck pillow that can provide your head with the most suitable support even while resting.
Neck pain: solutions for better sleep
We spend about a third of our lives sleeping, so it should come as no surprise that neck pain is largely caused by the incorrect positions we assume during the night.
While you sleep, in fact, it is imperative that the spacing of the vertebrae, from C1 to C7, is ensured, so that any kind of compression is avoided. And what is the best pillow for cervical spine? Obviously, the one that helps the cervical spine maintain its natural physiological curve.
To combat neck pain, therefore, it is essential to rely on an orthopedic pillow, the only one that can provide proper support for the neck, promoting the most natural posture possible. A neck pillow, in fact, will allow you to relax your neck muscles, distance your vertebrae, and be able to wake up in the morning less stiff and sore.
Buy a Pharmaflex pillow, the best solution to fight neck pain, but also to prevent it. Because as they say, prevention is better than cure!
