I am often confronted with the question about the origin of neck pain.
A patient might say to me, “I had no injury or accident. I happen to turn my head at work and all of a sudden the pain was intense. It had gotten worse and now I can’t even move it.” What happened?
My response often after an exam of the region and an evaluation of the range of motion is: Let’s look at what happened with the neck or even the whole body in the past few years. Often in the last 20 years.
Our posture is almost always faulty.
We all sit with our head carried forward, our shoulders angulated forward, our necks are bent to the front and upper back comes along for the ride.
Neck pain during sleep can be a result of injuries weeks, months or even years ago.
No, it is not a question of remembering to sit erect or stand with our shoulders straight. It is the relationship of the muscle groups between the front pectoralis (chest) muscles and the erector (back) muscles. The back muscles are generally stretched out and tired from the faulty bio-mechanic of the posture, while the pectoralis muscles in the front are tight, spasmodic and tense.
Ways to treat neck pain at home
I recommend daily stretches of the pectoralis muscles as we stand in a doorway and align the arm while we push the chest forward and the arm is at 90 degrees angle on the doorway. Additionally I suggest strengthening the back muscles with exercises like seated rows or pull downs and lateral arm stretches with thera bands.
Call for additional help or if I can be of assistance in answering any questions.
Yours in Health,
Dr. Tali Pariser
Ph. 404-610-1090