Neck pain is something everyone experiences sooner or later. Whether you have a physically demanding job, or if you’re an athlete, or if you just slept on your neck wrong one night, you will find yourself searching for stiff neck treatments eventually. If your neck pain is severe, you might have a spinal issue or another bone-related issue, but if it’s exclusively in your neck muscles, then there’s not much you can do besides waiting for it to go away.
There are, however, some home remedies for neck pain that can help you deal with it. Let’s take a look at 5 stiff neck treatments that can help remove localized neck pain.
1. Rest
Be warned; this sounds easier said than done. Rest as a means of stiff neck treatments means using your neck as little as possible over the next couple of days to see if it feels any better. Sometimes a sore neck is because of over-use, and cutting back to zero neck-related exercise for a day or two can work wonders on that pain.
2. Ice and Meds
Another simple method you can use for neck pain is to ice it and take some anti-inflammatory medication for the inflammation if it’s swollen. This is one of the easiest and most effective stiff neck treatments around, as reducing inflammation tends to work wonders for neck pain.
If your neck is in pain, the muscles are likely inflamed. Removing the inflammation even temporarily can go a long way towards immediate relief.
3. Stretching
Stretching your stiff muscles in the morning is a great way to warm them up for the day. By getting some blood flowing through the muscles, you can hopefully loosen them up, so they are less likely to ache with every movement throughout the day or get pulled with a sudden movement.
Try stiff neck massages and simple morning stretches like the child’s pose to start out with before you move on to more advanced stretches. The child’s pose isn’t specifically a neck stretch, but it will prepare your neck for stretching.
The forward bend stretch is an excellent way to begin stretching the neck. Just stand with both feet together, put your arms over your head, and slowly bend forward reaching as far as you can go before retracting your normal position. You can find the point where pain sets in and hold it there for 30-60 seconds, or you can do the stretch over and over again.
The spinal twist is also an excellent stretch to perform for neck pain. It involves using your hands to twist yourself to the left and right as you sit cross-legged on the ground.
Stiff Neck Exercises Will Make a Difference
If your neck isn’t seriously injured, you should be able to perform the above stiff neck treatments with no problem, and they should help out a lot with relieving your neck pain. Stiff neck causes are plentiful. Sometimes you might sprain your neck doing the most normal activity on Earth, so it helps to have a stiff neck remedy or two in your back pocket in case you need them.