Headache / Neck Pain
Dealing With Headache and Neck Pain
Many people suffer daily with headache and neck pain, unsure of the cause and searching for effective treatment. There are various factors that contribute to this condition and a few different sources of treatment available.
In countless cases, the pain is caused by the habit of poor posture. Slouching, leaning and staying in a misaligned position for too long puts strain on your body and can result in headache and neck pain. When such bad posture is repeated daily, it makes sense for that pain to seem chronic or constant.
If you sit at a computer all day with poor posture you are a likely candidate for aches and pains. Many people slouch while sitting or have their computer display and/or keyboard in an incorrect position. Try sitting with your spine against the chair back and align your neck and heels to it. Feet should be flat on the floor (use a footrest if necessary). With good posture, arms and elbows are bent between 75 and 90 degrees. Set your keyboard at that height. If you are leaning forward to see, bump up your display or monitor size so that you can comfortably sit back.
Besides practicing good posture (and you will need to keep at it, the habit of poor posture is a hard one to break), you can do stretches and exercises to help alleviate headache and neck pain caused by posture problems. Get up from your desk at regular intervals. Walking around will help to loosen the muscles. Also shoulder and neck rolls work well – roll shoulders forward slowly, return to position and then roll shoulders back. Neck rolls work the same way, in slow, deliberate motions, rolling your neck one way, return, and then back the other way. These stretches will help the muscles that tense up with staying in the seated position for long.
Pay attention to when your headache and neck pain flare up. If it happens often in the morning, you may be sleeping poorly, have the wrong sleep position or be in need of a new mattress. Do you feel well rested when you get up? Sleep positions are a personal thing. Try to add a body pillow to your bed and see if that helps your pain issues. Also, all pillows need to be replaced periodically, as they lose their firmness or form and mattresses also need replacement as well. When the support structure wears out, your sleep will suffer and it can contribute to many different aches and pains.
Stress or tension is also a common culprit behind headache and neck pain. Use relaxation techniques like stretching and exercise to keep your muscles loose. You will also be better able to deal with stress if you eat a proper diet and get adequate sleep (check that mattress).
People have different methods of dealing with these types of pain, some are pharmaceutical and some holistic. Not every one will work for every person, and some may need a combination of both.
Try pain relievers or light muscle relaxants purchased over the counter. They can often give you quick relief and let you carry on with your day immediately. This treatment is likely not addressing the problem behind the headache and neck pain and so will need to be repeated often.
Some exercise such as yoga or swimming can help to not only loosen the muscles in the area, but strengthen them as well. Fitting these exercises in regularly can be a struggle, but you should find improvement in the pain over time.
Visiting a chiropractor or osteopath for an examination can help you to further pin point the cause of your aches and pains. They can suggest posture corrections and light stretching exercises for you, as well as do body treatments that may help with the pain immediately. Often these types of treatments require repeat visits and a noticeable change in your habits (like posture) to be completely effective.
When suffering from headache and neck pain, take heart. Examine when and where the pain commonly flares up. Stretch and move your muscles. Practice better posture and then attend to a treatment – pain relievers, yoga class or a holistic practitioner should all help to alleviate your pain.