Self help for a stiff neck
Neck cramps, also known as a stiff neck, generally occur when the neck muscles weaken over time due to overuse or poor posture. An example of over use of your neck muscles, is when we are doing abdominal exercises and start to feel it in you neck – if this happens remember you are exercising your neck not your abdominal muscles! If you regularly get a stiff neck then consider your posture when you use a computer, drive or look at your smart phone.
When You have a Stiff Neck Self Help Procedure
1. Find the sore spot and place one hand over it.
2. Firmly push into the affected area with your fingers, but not hard enough to cause a sharp pain. Any pain should feel like a good pain as its accompanied by a sense of relief or release.
3. Turn your head slightly in the direction opposite of the cramp and bend it diagonally.
4. Repeat steps 1 to 3 around 20 times.
If you find you can’t quite hit the spot then why not book in with us.
Related Posts
More of what can assist you with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
Following on from my previous tips, here are a few more:
- ICE - If your wrist feels inflammed (red, hot and swollen) then icing the area may assist you.
- Cupping - which is part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). In a trail of cupping therapy, whereby heated glass cups are applied to the skin to create suction and encourage energy flow in the body, the cupping group experienced a significant reduction in pain and other symptoms compared to the control group.
- Myofasical Release - Its a hands on therapy which uses manual pressure and stretching to release the faction to assist the carpal tunnel. In a study of four patients with carpal tunnel syndrome, all saw an improvement in both their symptoms and MRI scans after myofasical release treatment. Amanda Oswald, a leading myofascial therapsits has written a book with self-help fascial stretches for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Living Pain Free (published by Lotus Publishing in 2017).
What is good standing posture?
We all know we need to maintain good posture, but what exactly is good standing posture? Good standing posture When standing, keep these tips in mind:
- Keep your shoulders back and relaxed.
- Pull in your abdomen.
- Keep your feet about hip distance apart.
- Balance your weight evenly on both feet.
- Let your hands hang naturally at your sides.
Take the wall test
To test your standing posture, take the wall test. Stand with your head, shoulder blades and buttocks touching a wall, and have your heels about 2 to 4 inches (about 5 to 10 centimeters) away from the wall. Reach back and slide your hand behind the curve in your lower back, with your palm flat against the wall. Ideally, you'll feel about one hand's thickness of space between your back and the wall. If there's too much space, tighten your abdominal muscles to flatten the curve in your back. If there's too little space, arch your back so that your hand fits comfortably behind you. Walk away from the wall while maintaining this posture. Keep it up throughout your daily activities.Check out your reflection
To see if you're keeping your shoulders straight, stand in front of a mirror. Aim to keep your shoulders square and relaxed.It all adds up
Although good posture should be natural, you might feel wooden or stiff at first if you've forgotten the sensation of standing up straight. The key is to practice good posture all the time. Remember its never to late to start practicing good posture.
