Back and neck pain can be terrible. It sometimes comes on unexpectedly and intensely, but your discomfort might only last for a while before it disappears again or comes back with no warning at all. The best way to find relief is to see a chiropractor who offers customized care and therapeutic approaches based on the individual’s needs.
A chiropractor offers relief from pain in different body parts without resorting to pain medication or surgical procedures. But, what causes your neck and back pain? You’ll be surprised to find out that everyday things are causing you pain.
Neck strain from texting
Texting and staring down at your smartphone for an extended time can be harmful to the human body. This is due to the extra tension put on joints, ligaments, and discs in your neck, which might contribute to early aging effects throughout life. To prevent this stress from happening, you should raise your phone or device so that it’s eye-level with you instead of looking straight down or holding it too close.
There are also ways around texting duration, such as resting hands on a cushion while using their thumbs like before modern technology was readily available or even taking frequent pauses during long messages when necessary.
Poor posture
Poor posture is a common cause of neck pain. It stresses the muscles and ligaments that hold up your head, leading to lasting damage if you don’t take preventive measures like tucking in your chin when bending over or looking down at something for too long.
The most significant sign of poor posture is what’s known as forwarding head position. Every inch more than 10 degrees between where our heads are positioned relative to our shoulders triggers an additional pound on top of the upper back and neck, increasing the muscle strain we’re already enduring from leaning all day.
To avoid future issues with bad postural habits, try keeping your chin tucked inside instead whenever possible.
Sleeping in an uncomfortable position
The body is made to move, and when you don’t find a good resting spot for it during the night’s sleep, that can cause problems. You may wake up with pain in your neck or back because most people do not enjoy it.
Luckily, there are many alternatives to provide comfort while sleeping; however, some experimentation might be necessary to see what works best for each person. It will also help if one tries using pillows that retain their spine within its natural alignment and maintain the standard curve of their necks.
Sitting too long
Sitting too long is a big no-no for your body, and it can also lead to pain. Not only is sitting bad for the lower back, but it’s hard on the neck as well, which can become very uncomfortable if you’re not used to its position away from a natural standing posture for a lengthy period.
Trying shifting around in your chair every 20 minutes or so will help distribute weight evenly throughout whatever part of your anatomy that you’re sitting on at the moment.
Wearing tight clothing
Clothing that is too tight causes many issues with health and posture. You’ll feel more tense wearing tight-fitting clothes than with something looser because they restrict movement and blood flow to certain parts of the body. Clothing that is too tight around the neck can choke your muscles which causes pain to develop later on in life.
A lack of exercise
Regular exercise is the key to a healthy, active life. The human body has an innate ability for self-repair and maintenance that needs regular activation from physical activity, such as running or stretching your neck back on chairs at work. If you are not exercising regularly, aches will accumulate in various parts of your body, especially joints like necks, where stiffness can happen quickly with age due to lack of movement.
Carrying heavy objects
An act as simple and mundane as carrying a bag can lead to back pain if not done correctly. When most people are aware of the potential for injury, they often feel relieved that it was just an error in technique rather than something more severe like arthritis or cancer. But many individuals don’t know how to lift correctly when performing this action, so they hurt their backs while executing what should be such a harmless act.
Carrying large bags on one side of the body is especially likely to cause problems because uneven weight distribution puts stress on neck muscles, leading to soreness over time. The best way to avoid these issues is by balancing your load among both sides equally whenever you have some extra pounds with you.
Not drinking enough water
To ensure you have the flexibility and strength to support your neck, try drinking at least eight glasses of water each day. One way that hydration can help is by providing nutrition for discs in between vertebrae. The fluid will also allow them to keep their shape better as they are primarily made up of water which means less pain from sitting too long.
When it comes to back pain, most people can just let the discomfort go away with no help at all. But if you are still feeling sore and uncomfortable despite your best efforts, then head on down to see a chiropractor for treatment.
