It would interest you to know that cases of a stiff neck have been recorded more recently. It is almost double what used to be the statistics before. With the rise in technology and other technological activities, one shouldn’t expect anything other than that. This is because activities as simple as staring down at your smartphones, driving, or gazing at your computers for a long time can give rise to cases of a stiff neck.
A stiff neck develops from abuse or bad posture. When this happens, your neck joint won’t turn smoothly because it’s out of place.
The good news is that simple remedies can help you snap out of this condition without stress. Let us explore this together in the article below. You will be shocked and blown away by some uncommon tips listed below. Happy Reading!
Causes Of Stiff Neck
Meningitis
One symptom of meningitis is a stiff neck, usually caused by fungi, bacteria, or viruses. Meningitis can be a serious situation, and it is often caused by the inflammation of the brain and spinal cord coverings, which are the meninges.
Arthritis
Arthritis is another medical condition that can give rise to a stiff neck. It is characterized by headaches, arm numbness, balance problem, and weakness in both arms and legs. This pain can worsen if the person affected stays in the same position for a long time.
Whiplash
Whiplash happens commonly during accidents when there is a severe neck injury caused by the sudden neck jerk forward and backward. Asides from neck stiffness, other symptoms that can be experienced by those suffering from it include headache, dizziness, shoulder and back pain, memory loss, and burning and prickling feeling around the neck area.
Another reason a stiff neck can be experienced is when
- You experience tense muscles which are because of stress
- Experience a fall
- Look down at an object repeatedly for a long time
- Sustain an injury during sport
- Slouch or sit for a long period
- Sleep in an odd position
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Four Simple Remedies To Treat Neck Stiffness
Be more gentle with your neck
It is highly recommended that you limit the physical activities that will make your neck uncomfortable, especially if a mishap causes neck stiffness during physical activity. These physical activities could involve exercise, games, or a part of your job.
Avoid any activity involving the active movement of your neck until the stiffness has been properly treated. Ensure that you also avoid lifting things that will worsen the stiffness of the neck.
Experts advise that you have ample rest so that your neck will fully heal. Rest well enough depending on the level of injury and as prescribed by a health professional. Ensure you sleep in a good posture.
Go the massage way
Get someone who can massage the stiff area around the neck area. However, do not forget that the keyword here is GENTLE. Get someone gently and carefully massage that area for you, trying out different techniques to see which will make you feel better. If you can find someone who is very good a professional at it, then that’s an added advantage.
If you cannot get someone, you can try communicating with whoever is helping you with it. Let them ask you professional questions like “how do you feel?” “Do you feel pain here” etc. These questions are geared at ensuring that the right places are touched and you feel well after the massage session as well.
Note that whatever method of massage is applied, always ensure that the movement is directed towards the heart. This is to ensure that the movement is the same way blood flows into your veins.
If the person massaging you applies too much pressure in the wrong direction, I.e., a massage method that mimics how blood flows away from your heart, there might be a danger. The danger involved is that a valve might get damaged.
Heat and ice would go a long way.
The heat helps to reduce any form of inflammation ad swelling, and ice does the same as well. This is because applying these two helps regulate the blood flow of that area. Ice does this by lowering blood flow to the area, while heat does this by stimulating blood flow to this area.
One great option is to alternate the application of ice and heat. Alternatively, you can have a shower, a warm bath, or a heating pad. The application of both at the same time is a perfect option as it can help to soothe any pain being caused by this neck stiffness.
They do this by relieving the victim of the pain around the area while giving it time to heal. To ensure that the application of Ice to your body is effective, it is medically recommended that the ice be applied for over twenty minutes or over five times a day.
Note that the ice shouldn’t be applied directly to your skin. You can get a cold compress to ensure the ice is not directly touching the skin.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is an ancient traditional medical process that has been around for quite some years. It used to be a traditional method, but recently, there has been various research about it, and it is now prescribed in recent medicine too.
This process uses needle insertion in places where pains are felt to help reduce the pain, stress, and tension around that area. Acupuncture has been studied to help by introducing body-release natural pain relievers.
With this, they believe that when applied to any painful area of the body, natural pain relievers triggered in the body by the introduction of this method counters the pain felt in the body.
It is important to emphasize that even though acupuncture has been proven to be a safe and effective method, it is highly advisable to do it with an expert. Ensure that all needles and other materials used for you are fully sterilized so you won’t add more danger to your health or even die in the process.
Conclusion
A stiff neck occurs when your muscle becomes weak over time due to misuse or poor posture. When you experience this, the joint of your neck doesn’t move smoothly when you try to turn your neck because the joint is now out of place. This makes you feel pain.
While your body is trying not to get hurt, your neck becomes clenched and unable to move.- which is the cause of a stiff neck. However, with all these listed points above, you can treat a stiff neck and enlighten others about it.
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