An Action Plan for Releasing Neck Tension

By adminjosh | December 25, 2020

Take a moment to apologize to your neck

You may not mean to impose so much tension upon this sensitive structure but, nonetheless, you still find yourself leaving work each day with a sore, stiff neck. It used to be that too much reading posed a significant threat to the cervical spine; now it is too much screen time. So many of our lives are lived in front of computer and smartphone screens and few of us credit the toll that they take on our cervical vertebrae. The natural instinct when using a screen, much like reading a book, is to crane your neck forward. This magnifies the already palpable weight of the head and increases the amount of downward pressure that is compressing your cervical vertebrae. What’s more, because we are barely moving, certain muscles are tightening and others are weakening from lack of use. What we then have is a complex network of muscles that are pulling your spine out of alignment, causing impingement on nearby spinal nerves. 

An action plan for reversing chronic neck pain and stiffness

Step 1 is paying a visit to your chiropractor to reestablish alignment throughout the cervical spinal segment using spinal adjustment. We also offer nonsurgical decompression, which uses a motorized traction table to apply distracting forces to each end of the segment, helping to ease compression-related pain and dysfunction. From here, we want to establish a routine of daily stretching and strengthening. Here is one set of movements you can start doing to fight back against tension in the neck:

  • Roll your shoulders back 10 times 
  • Roll your shoulders forward 10 times
  • Squeeze your shoulder blades together 10 times
  • Gently lower each ear to each shoulder until you feel a stretch in the neck

Stop accepting neck stiffness and pain as part of your life

If you need help saying, “no more!” give our office a call to schedule an appointment today. We can help you determine and treat the root cause of your neck tension and stop it from detracting from your quality of life. 

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