Exercising is a natural way to keep your body pain-free and healthy. That’s why many healthcare professionals strongly recommend adding a regular workout routine to one’s weekly schedule. However, when you over-exert yourself or perform the exercises the wrong way, you risk developing problems like stress neck pain. Thankfully, there are many ways to combat pain and ensure that it never bothers you again.
Stress is a broad term that encompasses various aspects of your life. While you often hear people associate it with mental and psychological concerns, sometimes it results from physical overexertion, such as when you work your body too hard at the gym. It can also get triggered when your muscles, bones, and joints suffer the impact because of poorly executed exercise positions.
Unfortunately, when your body enters stress mode, your nervous system can get overwhelmed. It can flood your systems with stress hormones like adrenaline and trigger muscle spasms in various body parts. Additionally, it can heighten your pain sensitivity sensors, making you more vulnerable to pain or pressure stimuli.
You can develop stress neck pain, and other problems that can last a few minutes to several days. Until your body stabilizes and recovers, your stress hormones will circulate in your bloodstream, keeping you in a fight or flight mode.
Neck pain can develop right after physical activity or several hours later. It would help to start seeking remedies as soon as you notice the first signs of neck pain, so it doesn’t get worse. Here are some practical self-care and home remedies that you can try when you have an achy cervical spine:
Overstretching your already sore neck muscles, and joints is the last thing you want to do at this point. That’s why doctors and upper cervical care practitioners recommend resting the neck before you begin another workout routine. You can use hot or cold therapy to ease the soreness and pain while you wait for your neck to recover.
Once your neck starts to heal and feel less painful, you can resume your physical activities. However, we recommend doing gentle movements first. For example, instead of immediately going out for a run around the neighborhood, you can opt for brisk walking. It would also help do warm-up exercises to loosen muscle tightness and help your body transition from a resting phase to an active one.
Suppose the pain doesn’t seem to go away after resting for a few days. In that case, you can try taking medications. Alternatively, you can try acupressure, acupuncture, physical therapy, massage therapy, and upper cervical care to help your body recover faster.
If you tried everything but the pain lingers or worsens, you should seek medical assistance. This will help you narrow down other causes of your painful neck, such as:
Neck pain might not seem a serious problem until you realize that you can’t move your head without feeling agonizing and searing pain. So, it might help to practice a few self-care tactics to help you steer clear from an achy neck. Here are some examples of techniques that you can try:
Stress neck pain is a common problem that stems from overworking your body. It’s best to listen to your body when you work out and know the signs of muscle burnout. This way, you can prevent pain in your neck or other body parts.
It also pays to consult with an upper cervical care practitioner, especially if you frequently experience neck pain after working out. Chances are, the muscle tightness and spasms trace their origin to cervical subluxation or neck bone shifting. Misaligned C1 and C2 bones press on muscle tissues and nerve roots, causing intense pain that lingers for days or weeks.
If you are a pro athlete or love to stay physically active, you might find it helpful to receive upper cervical chiropractic adjustments. It’s a practical and all-natural approach to coping with pain and ensuring that your body is in optimum shape.
Additionally, upper cervical care uses gentle movements to correct spinal misalignments. Many patients who struggle with recurring neck pain live pain-free, thanks to their neck bone adjustments. It applies to different age groups ranging from school-aged kids to aging people who started developing disc degeneration problems.
If you aim to use a sustainable way to keep your neck in great shape, upper cervical care is a promising option you can try. You may contact a local upper cervical chiropractor today to understand neck bone adjustments and their benefits to active people like you.
The content and materials provided in this web site are for informational and educational purposes only and are not intended to supplement or comprise a medical diagnosis or other professional opinion, or to be used in lieu of a consultation with a physician or competent health care professional for medical diagnosis and/or treatment. All content and materials including research papers, case studies and testimonials summarizing patients' responses to care are intended for educational purposes only and do not imply a guarantee of benefit. Individual results may vary, depending upon several factors including age of the patient, severity of the condition, severity of the spinal injury, and duration of time the condition has been present.