Stiff Neck? Here’s Why

If you’ve ever turned your head to check your blind spot and felt that sharp grab in your neck, you’re not alone. One of the most common things we treat at my office is neck pain. Lots of people deal
0:099 secondswith neck tension, stiffness, or even pain that starts in their neck and travels down between their shoulder blades. Most of the time, this builds up gradually. Long hours sitting at your desk, looking down at your phone,
0:2020 secondsstress, and posture. When your head starts drifting forward, even by an inch or two, it dramatically increases the load on your cervical joints and
0:2929 secondsmuscles. Over time, those muscles become overworked, joints become restricted,
0:3333 secondsand sometimes even discs and nerves can get irritated. That’s when you start noticing stiffness in the morning,
0:3838 secondsheadaches at the base of your skull, and pain when you rotate. If you’re dealing with this, here’s a few things that you can get started on today that will be
0:4646 secondshelpful. First, when at your desk, raise your screen to eye level. Your head should stay stacked over your shoulders and not drifting forward. Second, every 30 to 45 minutes, reset your posture.
0:5858 secondsThis can be standing up, taking a quick walk around, or just kind of bringing some attention to how you’re holding yourself. Um, one thing that I like to
1:061 minute, 6 secondsteach my patients is to pretend like you have a string attached to the top of your head and it’s pulling you up
1:131 minute, 13 secondstowards the ceiling. From there, you’re going to pin your shoulders back real tight and hold for about 4 seconds.
1:201 minute, 20 secondsAfter that, relax the shoulders, but hold the spinal posture and try to hold that for about 2 minutes. You’re not
1:281 minute, 28 secondsgoing to be able to keep that posture forever, but it’s a good reminder that helps kind of reset sort of the spinal posture reflex. Third, you can work on
1:371 minute, 37 secondsopening up the pecs. A simple doorway stretch. Putting your hand in a doorway and opening up the pec can help with
1:461 minute, 46 secondssome of that forward shoulder posture that can pull on the muscles of our cervical spine. And finally, don’t ignore your pillow. If your pillow at
1:541 minute, 54 secondshome isn’t set to the right height, that can put undue stress on your neck when you’re supposed to be resting at night.
1:591 minute, 59 secondsHere at Feelgood Chiropractic and Wellness, we start by assessing the cervical spine to see what’s actually causing your pain and dysfunction.
2:062 minutes, 6 secondsSometimes it’s a joint restriction and that’s going to respond really, really well to a precise chiropractic manipulation. If there’s significant muscle tension or trigger points, that’s
2:142 minutes, 14 secondswhere something like dry needling can bring pretty significant relief in a very short period of time, helping to calm the nervous system and relax those
2:212 minutes, 21 secondsmuscles. In cases where there’s tendon irritation or inflammation, we offer shockwave therapy, which can stimulate healing at the cellular level,
2:312 minutes, 31 secondsespecially when pain has lingered for weeks or months. Here at Feelgood Chiropractic and Wellness, we take a concierge approach to your healthcare, which means more time with your doctor,
2:392 minutes, 39 secondslonger visits, and a treatment that’s truly tailored to you. You’ll never be here for just a quick crack and be on your way. If you’ve been living with neck pain or just simply managing it,
2:482 minutes, 48 secondswe’d love to help you get to the root cause. Book an appointment today so we can get you moving and feeling better.