Quick introduction to my ‘Prevent, Cure and Adapt’ series:

Many ‘older’ people reminisce about their morning jogs or being on playing tennis on weekends ‘when they were young’. When I ask them why they don’t continue, they’re usually respond with saying,  “I can’t, I’m getting old. Everything hurts.”

But even if you might be experiencing some difficulty in going the same exercise you have been doing, I still don’t think that that should be the reason for not getting your daily dose of exercise. Even if you can’t play tennis anymore, there must be something you can do instead of just letting yourself be less active.

So, I’ve created a mini series with some tips on how to alleviate and deal with pain for bad backs, knees, neck and ankles. Enjoy!

How to prevent or alleviate neck pain:

#1 Adopt a better sleeping posture… and a better pillow.

Have you ever woken up and your neck felt really stiff? Well, you’re not the only one. Try not to rest your head on more than one pillow at night, and if it’s still not working, try using a different pillow. Here are some to consider.

Your sleeping posture also matters. The best is to sleep on your back and to use a low pillow. However, if you can’t help but sleep on your side, try getting a higher pillow.

#2 Massage your neck:

If you can’t afford (time and/or money-wise) to have someone massage you, perhaps you want to try it yourself. The two places you can massage are just below your skull and the area connecting your shoulders and your neck. It’s much easier to understand if you see the pictures below:

To massage, use your thumbs and apply pressure, massaging in a circular motion.

#3 Apply heat:

Another way to relax your muscles is by applying heat. You can use a heat pack, hot water bottle, or even use a hairdryer (I’m not kidding, try it!) Applying heat can help relieve pain because it relaxes your muscles and increases blood flow. You can also use this method to relieve lower back or shoulder pain as well!

#4 Read or do work at eye level:

You can strain your neck by looking down at your computer screen or at a book for long periods of time. Try working a table where your screen is eye level, and try to practice good posture and avoid sitting with a book on your lap.

#5 Stretch your neck:

If you’ve been following my ‘Prevent, Adapt and Cure’ series, you probably realise that stretching comes out a lot. But really, stretching has amazing long term benefits which can help prevent injury and worse neck pain in the future.

To stretch the sides of you neck: Tilt your head to one side, drawing your ear closer to your shoulder and gently use your hand to increase the stretch. For example, if you tilted your head to the right, use your right hand to press your head closer to your shoulder. Hold for 1 minute, and switch sides.

Stretch the front: Look straight up to the ceiling. If you are sitting down, try placing your hands behind you so you keep a straight spine

Stretch the back: Look down, interlace your hands at the back of your neck and apply slight pressure. If you want to stretch your upper back as well, try rounding your shoulders slightly.

Fish pose: another more advanced posture you might like to try is fish pose. Get into this position by placing your forearms on the mat just below your shoulders. Relax your neck so it’s resting on your shoulders and look up to the ceiling.

Recommended Exercises:

Generally speaking, your neck will be more affected if you do a lot of upper body exercises like push-ups. This is because it is easy to use the surrounding muscles when your shoulders or arms are tired. Therefore, these exercises are best avoided. However, if you warm up, stretch your neck and do the exercises slowly and mindfully, maybe you could still do your push-ups.

However, any exercises that focus more on the lower body should be find. Some of these include:

• Running/ Jogging
• Zumba
• Hiking
• Lower body strength training
• Yoga
• Roller blading/ ice skating

Want to know more? Here are other posts in this series:

• Lower back pain
• Upper back pain
• Ankle pain
• Knee pain

Have any other suggestions? Let me know in the comments below!

Featured image by StockSnap on Pixabay