Natural Skin Care Tips

Neck pain can be the consequence of an activity or injury that injures the neck or by other medical problem.

Activities that lead to neck pain
Most neck pain is the result of activities that cause repeated or prolonged movements to the neck’s muscles, ligaments, tendons, bones, or joints. As a result, a strain (an overstretched or overused muscle), a sprain (injury to a ligament), a spasm of the neck muscles, or inflammation of the neck joints may arise.

These activities include:
Maintaining your head in an improper position for a long time while working, reading, watching TV, or talking on the telephone.
Sleeping on an improper pillow that is too high or too flat or cannot have your head supported, or sleeping on your stomach with your neck bent or wried.
Resting your forehead on your upright fist or arm (“thinker’s pose”) for long.
Doing things that uses the upper body and arms, such as painting a ceiling or other overhead work.

Pressure and concentrating on a task can add to the severity of neck pain. Strain may grow in one or more of the muscles that are attached to the head, neck, and shoulders. As a result, tightness and pain will occur.

Injuries that cause neck pain
The spine is made of interlocking bones (vertebrae that support the body’s weight) and the discs, which separate the vertebrae and absorb the shock as you move. The part of the spine around the neck is named as the cervical spine. Muscles as well as ligaments make joint effort to support the cervical spine. Consequently, if one or more of these structures are injured, neck pain will arise.

Falls or excessive excise of the cervical spine will lead to injuries. Severe neck injuries may result from a painful case of whiplash in a car accident, falls from high position or heavy blows to the face or the back or top of the head, injuries caused by sports, a stabbing injury, or pressure on the outside of the neck, such as strangulation.

Injury may result in sudden and severe pain. Bruising and swelling may aggravate shortly after the injury. Sudden (acute) injuries can lead to:

A strain or a sprain in the neck.
A ruptured or dislocated of spine. The may bring about injury to spinal cord, which may result in lack of movement and feeling (paralysis). We must be cautious when fixing and moving the injured person in case that another injury may occur to him. If you want to know more about this, please consult first aid for a spinal injury.

A broken disc (herniated disc) in the cervical spine. If the rip is very wide enough, the jellylike material inside the spinal disc may run out and exert pressure on a spinal nerve. A herniated disc in the cervical spine can also arise during the process of aging. Look at a picture of a herniated disc.

Source: http://www.ahealthlab.com/neck-pain-causes.html

Filed under:
Health by Skin Care

There are many different kinds of treatment available for you to overcome neck pain. It includes: applying an ice pack to the injured area to relieve pain, doing exercise or having physical therapy to make your neck flexible, and changing activities and body mechanics to avoid reinjuring yourself. The specific treatment may be determined by the causes of your neck pain. So it is very important for you whether your pain is caused by activities, an injury, or another medical condition. Home treatment has been found to be the most effective way.

Source: http://www.ahealthlab.com/neck-pain-treatment.html

Because repeated or prolonged movements to the neck’s muscles, ligaments, tendons, bones, or joints are usually the major cause of neck pain, nonsurgical treatment is usually effective. Most cases of neck pain caused by activities resolve within 4 to 6 weeks.

Acute neck pain

For sudden (acute) neck pain:
Ice pack is an ideal option. Get in a comfortable position and place an ice pack on the sore for 48 to 72 hours. Your pain, muscle spasm, or swelling will be relieved greatly. If the affected area is near the shoulder or upper back, put ice on the back of the neck. In addition, ice massage is also found to be beneficial. Massage the sore with ice for 7 to 10 minutes, your pain will be relieved. Ice frozen in a paper cup proves to be very effective. Beware lest it cause harm to your skin(frostbite).

Use heat with caution as this can increase swelling. Avoid things, such as hot showers, hot tubs, hot packs, or alcoholic beverages, for the first 48 hours after an injury. After 48 to 72 hours, if swelling has gone done, you can use heat. Use a warm pack or heating pad set on low. Alternate use of heat and cold treatment is recommended by some experts.

Resume your normal daily activities as soon as possible. Normal activities are of great help to the elimination of some symptoms after a neck-strain injury. It had been proved to be more effective than resting in bed and using neck immobilization.

Gently massage or rub the affected area to lessen pain and speed up blood circulation. Stop massaging the injured area if the pain increases. Nonprescription creams or gels, such as Bengay, may help to alleviate your pain.

Take analgesics. Acetaminophen (such as Tylenol) may be helpful in alleviating your pain. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, including aspirin (such as Bayer), ibuprofen (such as Advil), or naproxen sodium (such as Aleve), is helpful in relieving pain and reducing inflammation. Be careful not to use aspirin if you are below 20 years old or you are at the risk of Reye syndrome.

For severe pain or muscle spasm, your doctor also may prescribe:

Muscle relaxants, which is used to alleviate symptoms such as muscle spasms, pain when neck pain begins. They consists of diazepam (such as Valium), cyclobenzaprine (such as Flexeril), and carisoprodol (such as Soma).

Narcotic analgesics, which is able to provide relief of severe neck pain in the short term. They consist of codeine, acetaminophen and hydrocodone (such as Vicodin, Lortab), aspirin and oxycodone (such as Percodan), and acetaminophen and oxycodone (such as Percocet).

The treatment that proves to be effective to you may bring a completely different result to someone else with neck pain. Some treatments are under more research than other. However, many treatments for neck pain have studied insufficiently even though they are frequently used. According to a review of studies, there is possibility that exercise and manual therapy, used either separately or together, is beneficial in the treatment of simple neck pain.

It may be suggested by your doctor that you wear a cervical collar to support your neck. Cervical collars may provide relief of your neck pain, be it shouldn’t be worn for long periods of time, usually a day or two. Look at a picture of a cervical collar.

Filed under:
Health by Skin Care

For neck pain suffers, medical treatment such as prescription medicines may be a good option. In addition, proper home remedy may accelerate healing. It includes:

For sudden (acute) neck pain:

Ice pack is an ideal option. Get in a comfortable position and place an ice pack on the sore for 48 to 72 hours. Your pain, muscle spasm, or swelling will be relieved greatly. If the affected area is near the shoulder or upper back, put ice on the back of the neck. In addition, ice massage is also found to be beneficial. Massage the sore with ice for 7 to 10 minutes, your pain will be relieved. Ice frozen in a paper cup proves to be very effective. Beware lest it cause harm to your skin (frostbite).

Use heat with caution as this can increase swelling. Avoid things, such as hot showers, hot tubs, hot packs, or alcoholic beverages, for the first 48 hours after an injury. After 48 to 72 hours, if swelling has gone done, you can use heat. Use a warm pack or heating pad set on low. Alternate use of heat and cold treatment is recommended by some experts.

Source: http://www.ahealthlab.com/neck-pain-home-remedies.html

Resume your normal daily activities as soon as possible. Normal activities is of great help to elimination of some symptoms after a neck-strain injury. It had been proved to be more effective than resting in bed and using neck immobilization.

Gently massage or rub the affected area to lessen pain and speed up blood circulation. Stop massaging the injured area if the pain is increased. Nonprescription creams or gels, such as Bengay, may help to alleviate your pain.

Take analgesics. Acetaminophen (such as Tylenol) may be helpful in alleviating your pain. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, including aspirin (such as Bayer), ibuprofen (such as Advil), or naproxen sodium (such as Aleve), is helpful in relieving pain and reducing inflammation. Be careful not to use aspirin if you are below 20 years old or you are at the risk of Reye syndrome.

Long-lasting (chronic) pain

For long-lasting (chronic) pain, you can use the same neck pain relief measures used for acute pain, but you do not have to worry about swelling.

You can get a quick recovery from acute and chronic neck pain and avoid further injury by:
Doing stretching and strengthening exercises for your neck can increase its flexibility and strengthen and avoid rigidity.

Stopping carrying on any activities that may be resulting in your neck pain, such as long-term computer work or overhead work.

Keep good health habits. If you are under great pressure, try to relax yourself at work and home. Quit smoking. Smoking will exert a negative effect on your treatment. It results in slow healing and insufficient blood supply and slow issue repair. Exercise regularly, including aerobic exercise such as walking.

Proper movement and body mechanics can assist you in avoiding future neck pain. This includes:

Do not keep slouching gesture and bend your head forward. Sit straight in your chair with your lower back supported, feet planted on the floor, and shoulders relaxed. Do not sit for long periods Take short rests several times per hour to have your neck muscles stretched.

Changing you sitting gesture will benefit your whole body when working at the computer. Make sure that the top of the screen is at the same level of your eyes. Ensure that your document is at the same level as the screen. If you want to know more, please consult the topic Office Ergonomics.

Using a headset or speaker phone if you have many telephone calls. Avoid holding the phone on your shoulder.

Adjusting your car seat to keep you sit straightly with your head and lower back supported. Make sure that you are not approaching the steering wheel while driving. Your arms should flex comfortablely.

Using a proper pillow and keeping proper gesture when resting. Your pillow should be in a proper height, neither too high nor too flat, to keep your neck straight. Cervical pillows or rolls are found to be efficacious in pain relief. If you don’t have a cervical pillow use a feather pillow with a small towel roll tucked in to support your neck. Sleep on your side or back without bending or twisting your neck. Look at a picture of proper sleeping positions.

Keeping proper posture when reading in bed. Make sure the book is kept at a right height so that you don’t need to use your arms to hold it up and bend your neck forward. You are recommended to use a wedge-shaped pillow to support your arms and keep your neck in a proper position.

Keep proper gestures when lifting something. Raising things by the efforts of knees, not you back, can also assist in avoiding neck pain.

Your doctor may suggest that you wear a cervical collar to have your neck supported. Cervical collars may relieve neck pain, but they should not be used for long periods., when you feel relieved, begin to do proper exercise to speed healing.

Filed under:
Health by Skin Care