- Yu Hun Hwang
Everything about neck pain
Hi! Welcome to my blog.
Today I am going to talk about neck pain.
As I am an acupuncturist, today's topic is about health.
Pain is a message our body is sending to us to tell us that we have a problem.
It could be a serious or a minor issue.
If you think your pain will go away by bearing it, it may or may not.
Depending on the severity of the condition, pain can simply disappear on its own or get even worse.
Probably you would like to know when to see someone and who to see when you have neck pain.
Seeing someone to get your neck checked and fixed can be costly.
I want you to know and make an informed decision about your neck pain if you ever get to have one.
Types of neck pain
To list some of the different types of neck pain:
Sharp local pain
Sharp pain radiating up through the neck to head when moved
Sharp pain radiating down from the neck to the arm when moved
Burning aching pain radiating up through the neck to head reaching to the forehead
Dull achey pain with local numbness, which may have ringing in the ear
Dull achey pain with heaviness and neck immobility
Neck dullness and difficulty to swallow
Neck aches and limited movement
Some of the list is not really pain but included in for the purpose of description.
If you are having any of those symptoms, you should go see someone to help your neck issue because it will not go away by itself.
Sometimes, even if you have those conditions, pain could alleviate by itself if lucky, but most likely not.
These are just common signs and symptoms I have seen and treated, therefore they are not complete or exhaustive.
The above conditions are often related to twisting of the neck, so it is better to take care of the condition early if you can.
Causes of neck pain
Neck can be caused by many reasons, but I will list some of them.
Pillow - If a pillow is too high or low, that may cause the neck to be bent, causing pain.
Cellphone/computer - This is a modern day problem where we are using these equipments too much and our neck is bent unreasonably causing pain.
Rapid rotation while straining - When you are doing a strenuous job, other muscles are pulling your neck muscles and sudden moving the neck while lifting/holding something heavy can cause neck twist.
Sports injury - Rapid neck movement can injure the neck.
Accidents - Car accidents, falls, and impacts can cause serious neck injury.
Pain can be annoying and irritating but knowing what caused a problem in a first place can help you to recover quicker.
It is counterintuitive to get a treatment, but you still have a source of the problem not fixed.
Paying close attention to when you are having pain, and the specific posture that causes pain, will help your clinician to resolve the problem quicker.
Home exercise
There are thousands of YouTube videos online you can search to help with your pain.
My best recommendations are to lie down on the flat, hard surface.
Place a something behind the neck to support the arch of neck. (travel pillow, or something)
Rotate neck, looking to the left shoulder then right shoulder.
When rotating neck, try to adjust the chin.
At first try to tuck your chin in as much as you can then slowly after every set of rotation to left and right, tilt head back, pushing chin outward.
Every time you rotate the neck, try to fully rotate the neck and see where the problems are.
There is no magic cure or treatment that I can suggest you, but if you want to massage yourself, you can try to massage the acupoint called GB20.
This is the base of the neck near the centre of the spine.
Try massaging that area while you are relaxed on a flat surface.
It is awful having pain, but is a phase which we all go through.
Wish you all the best, and hopefully I can help you on your recovery process.
These are informational purpose and should not be treated as legal, medical, or professional advices. Please ask your medical doctors or local experts about their advices.
#lastinghealthandwealth #PEI #neckpain