How to Get Rid of Neck Pain?
Neck pain affects millions of people globally each year. Neck pain can range from annoying to debilitating. In this article we will dive into how to get rid of neck pain.
How to Get Rid of Neck Pain?
Causes of neck pain
Neck pain can be caused by many things. Maybe you slept wrong? Perhaps you got rear-ended in traffic or slipped and fell? Whatever the action was, your neck now hurts. But what is causing the pain, you ask? The simple answer is a pinched nerve. There are dozens of nerves traveling up and down your neck. Sometimes those nerves become pinched due to trauma. A pinched nerve can cause severe pain and sometimes muscle spasms.
Types of neck pain
A pinched nerve may elicit several kinds of neck pain. It may cause the muscles around the neck to tighten up making turning the head very difficult and painful. We call this a torticollis. A pinched nerve may also cause tingling or numbness to radiate down the arms or into the hands. If the muscles are too tight in the back of the head at the top of the neck, this can cause headaches or migraines. Though the nerves in our neck may be very tiny, they can certainly lead to some pretty big problems.
Medical Solution
Millions of people seek treatment for neck and back pain at the office of their medical doctor. In fact, one of the most common reasons for ER visits is for back pain. More often than not medical doctors will prescribe you a pill for that pain. That pill will either be a pain killer, or a muscle relaxer, and sometimes they will give you both. They may also give you a shot or steroid injection depending on the severity. This absolutely helps decrease the severity of the pain caused by pinched nerves. It does not unfortunately make the pinched nerve go away.
Chiropractic Solution
Instead of using medication to treat the neck pain, chiropractors use their hands. They manually manipulate or adjust the neck and spine. It is a very gentle and non-invasive form of treatment. The adjustment helps relieve pressure on the pinched nerves. This reduces the pressure on the nerves which typically helps relieve the pain and any muscle tension.
At home therapies
If you are at home and can’t get to your medical doctor or a chiropractor, here are a few things you can still do to help relieve some of the pain and/or discomfort. First you can try stretching. Only do the stretching if you can do so without going into further pain. You can also alternate between hot and cold packs on your neck. Consult your physician before doing so, as they may recommend one over the other. If the pain is really bad, you can try taking an over-the-counter pain killer, and follow the instructions on the bottle. Lastly, if the pain is extremely severe, then we recommend dialing 911, or going to the emergency room.
