Do you have a stiff neck? Chronic neck pain? Always sore and achy? Neck pain is no joke and very annoying when everything you try to do to fix the issue feels nice but doesn’t seem to last.
If this is the first time your visiting my site, then I will let you know right now that I’ve been a Registered Massage Therapist for 10 years so I’m not going to sugar coat what I’m about to say because you don’t need sugar. You need results!
So here we go. I’m going to give you 5 ways to relieve neck pain but I need you to understand the most important thing. These tips will help you in the short as well as long term towards relieving your sore neck but until you take consistent action towards eliminating or decreasing the activities that are causing or making your neck pain worse, you will only be putting a “band-aid” on the symptoms and not addressing the problem. When you address the problem (cause) then the symptoms usually take care of themselves.
Now that we got that out of the way let’s jump right into my 5 ways to relieve neck pain.
- Improve Your Posture
I know you don’t want to hear this but your poor posture is contributing to your neck pain. Awesome, glad I got that out of the way. So how do I fix it Sarah? It takes time and it feels awkward in the beginning but it’s well worth the effort. Besides have you seen the way you look when your hunched over? Not cute. Here are some great exercises to help you start correcting your posture.
2. Regular Massage Therapy Treatments
Massage Therapy is a great self care tool to have. In a treatment session your therapist will assess your current state and release tension and reduce pain. My biggest tip when it comes to adding Massage Therapy to your regimen is to spread them out throughout the year. Don’t wait until you feel pain, go a few times and stop. Wellness is a lifestyle. Remember that. If you want to experience the short but even better the long term benefits of Massage Therapy, you need to adopt it as part of a healthier lifestyle where your taking care of the vessel that allows you to walk the earth and do the things you do. If your in the Toronto area, book an appointment with me today. Easy online booking!! http://bit.ly/BookRMTOnline
3. A Little TLC…….a.k.a Self Care
Aside from Massage Therapy there are things that you can do at home on a regular if not daily basis to help relieve neck pain. Here are a few great things you can start incorporating:
- Mediation
- Stretching
- Hydrotherapy
- Electronic Massager
These are just a few things but there are so many things that you can do at home in between your Massage Therapy treatments. Try one or all today!
4. Get Moving Honey!
It’s time to getting moving and I’m not talking about driving to and from work, or running errands. Nope. I’m talking about activities that you actually enjoy and that get your muscles moving and stretching in ways that differ from your regular day-to-day movements. I live in the city and I love to walk. So any time I get a chance I take some time to go for long walks in nature. It’s great for my body and my mental well being too. So If you love swimming, swim! Don’t sign up for yoga classes, if yoga doesn’t appeal to you. Try activities that your interested in, just make sure your moving your body. If you love it, you’re more likely to stick with it.
5. Get Stronger
Now I’m not saying you have to go beast mode or anything but understand that if you build your muscles (get stronger) your body will thank you for it. For example, weak abdominal muscles contribute to low back as well as neck pain. Without going into all the anatomy, you need to understand that your muscles work together. So basically when a set of muscles is weaker or under used it puts stress on other muscles groups which ultimately leads to pain and dysfunction. So don’t be afraid of weight training. Make sure to do your research to make sure your doing the exercises properly, go to a class or hire a trainer.
There are even more ways to help relieve neck pain. But the ones above, if done consistently will have long lasting effects. Remember these tips are to help you but ultimately the best thing you can do is really evaluate what habits are contributing to your neck pain and start taking the neccessary steps to eliminate them as much as you can.
