No More Neck Pain!
Neck pain is a common complaint in our tech-driven world. As we spend more and more time sitting with poor posture, looking down at our devices, we end up with more neck pain.
Neck pain is commonly associated with headaches and tight shoulder muscles, and may even result in migraines or shooting pains in your arms.
Whether you're experiencing neck pain or not, it's important to improve your neck mobility, sensation, flexibility and alignment to prevent a "pain in the neck" in the future.
There are four components of Postural Fitness to prevent neck pain.
- Sensation - tuning in and bringing awareness to your head, neck and shoulders.
- Mobility - moving the joints of your head, neck and shoulders to prevent stiffness and irritation.
- Flexibility - to lengthen tight, contracted muscles of your head, neck and shoulders.
- Reverse Posture Exercises - to improve alignment and reverse postural distortion patterns of your head, neck and shoulders.
Good posture habits can help prevent neck pain, stiffness in your shoulders, jaw pain, and even headaches and migraines. If you have poor posture patterns with your head and neck, it can compromise the alignment of the rest of your body. On the flip side - creating and maintaining good posture habits - helps you feel and move better.
Let's look at proper posture of your head and neck:
*Your ears are aligned over your shoulders.
*Your eyes are parallel with the horizon.
*Your shoulders are back.
*Your chest is forward.
*Your head is level, not rotated or tipped to one side or the other.
Common Causes of Head Posture Distortion patterns:
*Looking down at your cell phone
*Looking down at your laptop or computer
*Sitting in a slouched position with your shoulders rolled forward and your head forward
*Looking down while walking
*Improper sleeping posture
Did you know that looking down at your cell phone in poor posture can add 10-60 pounds of extra stress on your neck and shoulders? Those repetitive increased loads can cause neck pain, shoulder stiffness, and headaches over time.
To prevent tech neck, integrate proper tech posture habits into your daily routine.
This week, we're going to focus on SENSATION. When you become more self-aware of tension throughout your day, you can start making positive changes with your posture.
I've heard it so many times: "I never knew I was tight / sore / tender there until you touched it!"
So start with self-massage to tune in to your body.
Watch this video!
Self massage of your head, face, jaw, neck and shoulders. Massage each area of your neck - the sides, the front, and and the back of your neck. Focus on your breathing and keep it deep and relaxed, being mindful of what you're feeling.
Pay attention to your self-talk as you do this. If you hear critical and negative words like "oh, I'm so tight! This will never get better!" rephrase with "I'm taking the time to be kind to myself."
There's magic in the word "soft" compared to the command "relax". Think about feeling the muscles get soft as they get some love from your fingers. And yes, it is VERY nice to have someone else give you a massage, but there may not be someone else around all the time...you have the power in your own hands to release tension and create balance.
In the next blog, we'll cover Part Two: Mobility of your neck and shoulders.
Angela Hall
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