There are many factors that can play an atrocious role in causing neck and shoulder pain.
After all, your neck and shoulders comprise numerous important components that can be affected such as nerves, muscles, bones, arteries, veins, ligaments, and other supporting structures.
While some of the pain is associated with life-threatening conditions such as heart attack and trauma, others are simply caused due to strains and contusions that occur because of sleeping wrong, poor posture, a lack of exercise, etc.
Before we discuss the ways and methods you can use to relieve neck and shoulder pain at home, it is important to understand what causes the pain in the first place.
What Causes Shoulder and Neck Pain?
More often than not, you experience pain in the shoulder and neck because of whiplash or injuries to soft tissues such as ligaments, tendons, and muscles. You can also feel a sharp pain from a broken collarbone.
Do you know that heart attacks can also cause shoulder or neck pain? Basically, the neck and shoulder pain associated with heart attacks is generally called ¨referred¨ pain.
Other causes of shoulder and neck pain can include a broken shoulder blade, rotator cuff injuries, shoulder or A-C separation, whiplash injury, tendonitis, and gallbladder diseas, etc.
What Happens When You Suffer From Shoulder and Neck Pain?
When you have shoulder and neck pain, the pain that you experience can vary from dull, crampy, shock-like, burning, or stabbing.
Of course, when you suffer from shoulder and neck pain, you also have a loss of range of motion, causing a severe, throbbing headache.
You will experience weakness, largely caused by severe pain from bone or muscle movement. You may also experience numbness—a sensation similar to having your arm ¨fall asleep.¨
You shouldn´t be shocked to see swelling in your neck and shoulder area. Muscle tightness or spasms may stimulate actual swelling.
How Long Does It Take for Neck and Shoulder Pain to Go Away?
Long-term joint pain from neck and shoulder disorders may last years. Not all shoulder disorders are as clear as back pain, but most will ultimately resolve. For shoulder conditions such as rotator cuff tears or a damaged rotator cuff, a pinched nerve or bursitis in the shoulder joint are the most common causes. As a rule of thumb, pain from neck and shoulder disorders lasts about three to six months. If you're having chronic neck pain, seek medical attention for it as soon as possible.
What are the Causes of Neck and Shoulder Pain? Certain environmental and physical activities can cause neck and shoulder pain. Here are some of the most common causes. Pain in the neck, back, or shoulders, which in turn may spread to the arms, hands, or neck. Wearing heavy, tight neck and shoulder collars, which press on the neck, and cause neck pain. Playing contact sports such as football, hockey, and basketball that puts the neck and shoulders at risk for injury.
Getting to the Point—So, How to Relieve Neck and Shoulder Pain at Home Then?
It is possible for you to treat your neck and shoulder pain at home, provided that the pain is only caused by minor injuries and strain.
If you are not certain about the cause of your pain, and if you suffer from symptoms that suggest that you have a more serious condition, you shouldn´t shy away from contacting your doctor as soon as possible.
Some of the basic care measures you can initiate include;
Stretch and Neck Massagers
There are also stretches you can perform after a long, hot shower for instant neck pain relief or by using the best neck massagers and shoulder massagers. For instance, you can perform the seated neck release.
To perform the exercise, you will need to sit in a cross-legged position.
Then, you should extend your right arm next to your right knee.
After that, you must place your left hand on the top of your head and slowly tilt your head to the left.
If you want to increase the stretch, you can apply gentle pressure with your hand. After holding on to a particular side for 30 seconds, you can then repeat this stretch on the other side.
Take Proper Rest
It is of paramount importance for you to take proper rest and limit your movement with the injured area as much as possible for a couple of days.
After a few days, you can start your rehabilitation by slowly exercising the injured area. If you want to expedite your recovery, you must rest!
Increase Your Consumption of Magnesium
More often than not, neck and shoulder pain is caused by a muscle strain or sprain. Therefore, in order to prevent neck and shoulder pain, you should attempt to relax your muscles. You can decrease your chances of neck and shoulder pain by consuming magnesium, a mineral that aids in the relaxation and contraction of muscles.
Apply Ice
The ice in your fridge can be used to not only keep your beverages chilled and how you like them, it can also be used to treat your neck and shoulder pain. All you will need to do is to place the ice in a plastic bag and proceed to wrap it with a towel.
You can then apply the ice to the injured area for a period of around 18 minutes every hour. If you want to avoid damage to your skin, you must avoid applying ice directly to your skin.
Elevation
If you want to improve your chances of decreasing the swelling and reducing the pain, you should elevate the injured area above your heart. You can use pillows to prop yourself up.
Use Your Phone Carefully
If you don’t want to aggravate your neck pain, it is essential for you to not cradle your phone in your neck while talking. You must stop doing so because it puts unneeded strain on your cervical spine. You should also avoid craning your neck down to look at your phone.
The Importance of Staying Hydrated
If you want to reduce neck pain, you should stay hydrated at all times. How can water help you?
Well, you will need water to maintain your spinal alignment and disc height and to take the extra load off of the spine. The cervical discs continue degenerating as we grow older. However, if you want to maintain them, you should maintain strong daily hydration habits.
Acquire a Neck-Supporting Chair
If you are not strapped for cash, why don´t you acquire a neck-supporting chair? A neck-supporting chair ensures that you maintain a good posture, and, thus, keeps your neck pain under control.
If you want to reduce strain on your neck, you must keep your cervical spine in a neutral position and you can only do that by using a headrest.
