Chiropractor Irmo Sc | The 5 Real Reasons We Experience Neck Pain

Everybody experiences neck pain at some point in their life and often times they have no idea why. It is very common. You ask someone what happened to his or her neck and he or she will respond, "I don't know. I was just standing there and bam! My neck went out." Or they will say something like, "I don't know I just woke up this way."

Here we go. The five real reasons why we experience neck pain without even realizing we are hurting ourselves.

#1 Poor Posture
This is it guys and gals. Our necks support our big fat heads and if we don't stand straight, then we are going to hurt our necks. Look at yourself. Does your neck stick out? Do you slump over? Do your shoulders roll forward?

Get a friend to help you check. Make sure you are standing straight and tall. Check your sitting position too, especially at the computer. We do not want anybody leaning too close to his or her laptop.

#2 Misalignments in the Spine
This kind of goes with bad posture but it is deeper down. When the spine is misaligned, it puts pressure on the nerves causing all kinds of pain. Only a chiropractor can tell you if this is a problem, so I recommend seeing one to find out.

You can find one that offers same day appointments and friendly service. Chiropractors also tell people when there is nothing wrong. So you are good there, too.

#3 Sleeping on the Belly
While sleeping on your belly may be comfortable for the rest of you, it wreaks havoc on the neck and spine. Think about it people. Your poor little neck is turned at a whopping ninety-degree angle here. Either that or you are smothering yourself in a pillow.

When you wake up, your neck has been turned at a weird position all night long. It needs a good massage just to get back to normal. Give it a rest and sleep on your back or side with a good supportive pillow.

#4 Stress in the Neck
Surprise! Surprise! People carry stress in the neck. I know this is shocking to many people but when you get stressed out it causes neck pain. Tension builds up in the neck and shoulders and neck pain occurs.

Since eliminating stress is not an option, there are some things you can do about it. Some simple shoulder rolls will relieve some of the unwanted tension along with a good massage.

A chiropractor offers both massage techniques and realignment techniques to keep everything in place. In fact, regular visits to the chiropractor have proven effective in the reduction of chronic tension headaches.

#5 Lack of Neck Stretches Before Activity
I know you are thinking I must be crazy. Who stretches their neck? But if you watch athletes, you will see them stretch their neck side to side before competition. I know we are not professional athletes but simple stretching of the neck does not hurt us either.

When we are working on a computer for long stretches of time, we could use a good stretch. When we feel tension building up, a stretch would be a good thing. Even upon waking up in the morning, stretching our necks out would not hurt us one bit. How does the saying go? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.