Best Exercises To Relieve Neck Pain At Home

Did you know that almost 10% of the population experiences neck pain at any given time? If you wake up to find that you have a stiff neck, it is neck pain or cervicalgia, which occurs due to bad sitting postures and staring at the screen for extended hours.

What you need to know:

What is neck pain?
What is a text neck?
Causes of neck pain
Treatment for neck pain
Neck exercises at home

What is neck pain?

Neck pain is the pain you feel around your spine under your neck. Depending on the painful areas, it can be classified into axial neck pain (neck pain) and radicular neck pain (pain that spreads to your entire body). If your neck pain stays for more than 3 months, it can become chronic and limit neck movements.

Here are some of the symptoms of neck pain:

A shooting pain that travels from the neck to surrounding places like your shoulders and hands
Headache
Stiffness in your joints, neck and shoulders
Muscle spasms
Tingling feeling in your shoulder or arms

Practise neck exercises at home to manage neck pain and keep the symptoms at bay.

What is a text neck?

Text neck is a postural problem that arises from the increased usage of tech gadgets. It is where your head is tilted forward, shoulders rounded and back slumped. Text neck can have negative consequences for your health as it tightens the muscle, tendon, and ligament structure in the front of your neck while lengthening the back of your neck. It also puts additional strain on your neck, resulting in pain and injuries.

Causes of neck pain

Here are some of the most common causes of neck pain:

Age: With age, your body’s natural wear and tear can cause your spine to deteriorate, causing pain. Overuse and repetition of body movements can also weaken the spine disks, which can cause severe neck pain.
Mental stress: Mental stress can cause your neck muscles to tighten up, leading to neck stiffness and pain.
Various health conditions: Neck pain is a symptom of certain health conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, cancer and meningitis.

Treatment for neck pain

Here are some of the measures and treatments that you can incorporate to manage neck pain:

Take short but regular breaks from the screens
Check your posture and correct it
Stretch regularly
Do yoga for 10 minutes
Do neck exercises
Hot and cold therapy

See a medical expert if any neck pain persists.

Neck exercises at home

Practising neck exercises at home and stretching regularly is the best way to tackle neck pain and posture problems. Doing neck exercises at home requires no equipment and alleviates pain and physical discomfort.

Chin Tuck

This exercise can be done at your desk or while sitting idly. It will correct your head alignment and strengthen neck muscles. Follow these simple steps to do a chin tuck.

Sit up in a chair and keep your chin parallel to the floor.
Move your chin back.
Hold this position for 3 deep breaths.
Release your chin forward. Repeat.

Downward-Facing Dog

Downward-facing dog poses several benefits for your neck and strengthens your upper body. Do this exercise soon after you wake up to get the best results.

Begin with a plank pose, balance on your hands,
Lifting your hips to form an inverted V-shape with your body.
Try to make your heels touch the floor.
Go back to the starting posture.
Repeat this pose 5 times.

Exaggerated nod

This easy neck exercise at home relaxes the text neck by increasing neck mobility and strengthening your muscles.

Sit comfortably with your shoulders relaxed and your mouth closed, looking towards the ceiling.
Open your mouth with a relaxed jaw.
Bring your head slightly back (an inch or two).
Bring your lower jaw towards your upper jaw, closing your mouth.
Repeat several times.

Incorporate these neck exercises at home and practise them daily to manage neck pain and its symptoms.

Stay tuned to the Activ Living Community. Keep up to date with the latest health tips and trends through expert videos, podcasts, articles, and much more in nutrition, fitness, mindfulness, and lifestyle conditions like Asthma, Blood Pressure, Cholesterol, and Diabetes.

You may also be interested in the following blogs:

Popular Searches