Tips to Get Rid of Neck & Back Pain

Aching neck and back pain can keep you up at night, and always has a tendency to present itself between adjustments. The goal of every chiropractor is to keep their patient’s neck and back pain-free at all times, so adjustments are simply preventative and not needed because of pain.

Patients must adjust their daily habits to keep pain at bay.

The following tips will allow you to remain pain free-all day long, and they start with your morning stretch.

Morning Stretch

When you wake up in the morning, do a few stretches to warm your muscles up. Hamstring stretches are great because a tight hamstring or a pull can lead to a misaligned spine and continual pain.

You can stretch to your toes, keeping your back and knees straight, or you can stretch your hamstrings by pulling your feet up in the air with a yoga belt and stretching.

There are several stretches you can do, but always start with your hamstrings. People are becoming more sedentary, working long hours at desks instead of doing manual labor. If you work at a desk all day, make sure to stretch in the morning and at night to keep your hamstrings loose and your back pain-free.

Stop Your Bad Habits

We’re all guilty of having bad habits, but many of your habits can lead to back and neck pain. The following bad habits should be avoided at all times:

• Sit-ups: If you’re experiencing pain, sit-ups are not recommended. While a strong core helps you avoid back pain, sit-ups can put strain on the neck and back. If you’re experiencing pain, ditch the sit-ups and do a yoga plank instead.
• Put Away the Cellphone: The world is connected and people are constantly staring down looking at their cellphones all day. The human head weighs 12 – 15 pounds, and all of this weight strains the neck muscles.
• Don’t Cross Your Legs: Sitting with your legs crossed puts excess strain on the lower back. Keeping both feet on the ground in a parallel position is recommended.
• Sleeping on Your Stomach: The worst position to sleep in is on your stomach. Instead, sleep on your back with pillows under your knees.

Form Good Habits

Just as there are bad habits we form, good habits can help correct back issues and relieve pain. We recommend the following:

• Sit Up Straight: Slouching in a chair does hurt your back. Sitting up straight ensures the spine and neck stay in proper alignment alleviating pressure on these sensitive areas.
• Get a Massage: You deserve to pamper yourself – and it’s great for your neck and back. An upper body massage will alleviate muscle tension allowing your spine to go into proper alignment. Pain is also reduced as a result.
• Start Moving: Sitting all day is bad for your health. Even standing isn’t good for your back. You need to walk around and enjoy physical activities. These activities will work the muscles and ensure muscle tightness doesn’t lead to pain.
• Use Your Headrest: When you have neck pain, you want to ensure the back of your head is against the headrest. This position will alleviate pressure on the neck and spine allowing you to relieve some of the pain you’re experiencing.

When your neck and back hurt, you need to do all you can to alleviate the pain. The pain you’re experiencing can be reduced or eliminated by following the tips above, or you may need to visit a chiropractor. Family Chiropractic Care provides outstanding back & neck pain treatment, do you can get back to being your best and more comfortable self.  Contact us here or call (360) 636-2636 to schedule your appointment.