How Does a Tens Unit Work on Muscle Spasm- Pain comes from electroechemical impulses relaying the pain message. A TENS unit interrupts this pathway. T.E.N.S stands for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation. It is often used to treat low back pain and neck pain. Tens units use a low voltage electrical current to induce pain relief. Continue Reading Article
Neck Exercises- Learn effective neck stretches and strengthening exercises for the cervical spine
End Neck Pain by Improving Posture- How Proper Posture Improves Your Spine Relieving Nerve Pressure- How does posture have anything to do with neck pain?--Neck pain comes from pressure on the nerves. How does this happen?--Usually pressure from a misaligned neck spine. When your spine is misaligned (some call that subluxated) it does not move like it should and in turn creates inflammation in that area. Either out-of-alignment spinal vertebrae (spinal bones) put direst pressure on nerves or the inflammation, or built up degeneration causes the pressure. Continue Reading Article
How to Reduce the Chances of Getting A Stiff Neck- A Stiff Neck.... Horrible especially when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is going to be one painful day. You are stiff, your neck hurts, you cannot turn your head, even brushing your teeth hurts. We get questions about how to treat a stiff neck all the time. Continue Reading Article
How To Avoid Neck Pain While Doing Abs- If you do your Abdominal crunches correctly with proper form, there is no reason to suffer from neck pain or sore neck. One of the biggest mistakes that people make is that involve there neck muscles while doing these exercises- that is a NO-NO. Bringing your head and neck forward puts unnecessary pressure on the neck and it is not healthy. So when you do your abdominal crunch look at the ceiling.Continue Reading Article
Many times the warmer weather is easier on the back. Not just the fact there is no shoveling, and you don't have to constantly watch your step because of ice, but there's a couple of other reasons too.
When there is bad weather, it's almost like gravity pushes down on us slightly more. It's only a fraction but sometimes it's enough to affect an arthritic area or an already injured disc. A storm can be during the summer too however.
The Weather Forecast in Miami on one December Week....Talk about Warm Weather :)
But just the really cold weather tends to tighten our muscles slightly. Tight muscles can also mean pain and spasm. You want to try to be loose so you're muscles are ready to move. It's similar to a warm-up before exercise!
For me personally, I sleep on my back with a wedge under neath my knees. This helps to take the tension off of the lower back area. Here is a great video from YouTUBE showing you how this works.
Dr. Bellinger, a Chiropractor in Central Connecticut, showcases a fiber support pillow called the arc4life natural alignment pillow ! This softer gentler neck pillows works to align the neck and shoulders for optimal sleeping position. Check it out.
Dr. Bellinger, a Chiropractor in Central Connecticut, showcases a fiber support pillow called the arc4life natural alignment pillow ! This softer gentler neck pillow works to align the neck and shoulders for optimal sleeping position. Check it out.
What is the Best Pillow to Use to Prevent Neck Pain From Happening in the First Place?
Well here is a very commonly asked question from people who don't want any type of neck pain. Which pillow should i Use? Should I use no pillow at all? Should I use a firm pillow? Should I use a buckwheat pillow? Should I use a contoured neck pillow?
Sometimes this question comes from people who do not suffer with any neck pain, but they are in the market for the best pillow that will prevent neck pain. That makes sense. Neck pain can be a major cause of stress: at home, at work- it interferes with your activities of daily living if you let it. That is why getting the best possible pillow is imperative. If you can prevent something from happening, why not be proactive and take steps to make sure you stay neck pain free.
Getting a Pillow for Chronic Neck Pain Can Be Difficult
Not so simple when there are so many choices on the market for a neck pillow. Often though this question comes from people who are suffering with neck pain. They may have been involved in a car accident or had a fall where they injured their neck. Now they are looking for the best solution to get rid of their neck pain.
Nerve Pressure
What happens when you don't have the proper support under your neck? When we have pain in the neck or back, it tells us we have nerve pressure somewhere. When the spine is misaligned or segments of the spine have lost mobility, we can get nerve pressure.
What happens exactly?
Inflammation builds up and puts pressure on a nerve or nerves. When we have immobility it allows for inflammation to accumulate.
Sleeping Position Matters
What should the neck look like when you are laying down to sleep The spine from the front or back should be straight up or down. When you sleep on your back or if you look at the cervical spine from the side it has a nice smooth 'C' curve. This is the biggest reason that neck roll component of the pillow is so important.
My Favorite Neck Pillow to Prevent Neck Pain
Here is the pillow I Use, my husband uses, my sister uses and my mother in law uses ! All that being said, "what pillow should you get"? First, you want to get what's called a neck pillow. A neck pillow is a pillow that has support for the neck, spine, or cervical spine.
My favorite neck pillow...
The Arc4life Cervical Traction Neck Pillow. This is my number one pick for best neck pillows. That being said, there are a lot of great pillows out there and one pillow doesn't necessarily work for everyone. I would say that this pillow has worked the best for the majority of people.
Dr Matthew Bellinger, Glastonbury Chiropractic Shows Us the Arc4life Pillow
Here's some of my other reasons for choosing the traction pillow:
Many pillows in one
It's two pillows in one: rotate the pillow 180 degrees and you are sleeping on the linear gravity pillow. Don't flip it over, just turn it. Now the 'V' is above your head.
It's just the right firmness. Not too hard, not too soft, just right for maximum comfort. Getting a good night's rest is the most important. You can sleep on your back or side. When you turn on your side you land up out of the 'V' on either sing of the pillow. On you side, it keeps your head level.
The spine from the front or back should be straight up or down. When you sleep on your back or if you look at the cervical spine from the side it has a nice smooth 'C' curve. This is the biggest reason that neck roll component of the pillow is so important. Maintaining these alignments keeps our nerves free from pressure.
The Traction Pillow is Not For Everyone.
Here are some other pillows that might be a good choice for you. Here is another great pillow to prevent neck pain: The Tri Core orthopedic Neck Pillow. It can also help with stiff neck and headaches. The biggest difference between the traction pillow and the tri core pillow that the tri core family of neck pillows is much more firmer.Meaning that there is more fiber fill in these pillows. The density of the pillows is greater, and therefore less give to the pillow. For people who prefer a firmer neck pillow, than this is going to be the best pillow to prevent neck pain. The Tri core family of neck pillows comes in three sizes:
Petite Tri - Core Pillow
Mid Core Pillow
Standard Tri Core Pillow
Inflammation
Why also chiropractic can help you with neck pain. Now, when we talk about this kind of inflammation, it doesn't mean we necessarily have swelling or even redness. Sometimes we do, but in this case, it's more internal.
This is why a trip to the chiropractor may help so much. Those chiropractic adjustments help to restore alignment and mobility. Get things moving and that inflammation dissipates, and so does nerve pressure.
One Way to Stop Neck Pain: One choice of many Solutions There are lots of things you can do to stop neck pain. Take pain medications or muscle relaxers, get a pain injection, maybe physical therapy, chiropractic, maybe even surgery. But one simple way to stop neck pain is change your pillow.
Certain neck conditions can make it so that it is hard to fall asleep, and stay asleep comfortably. For things like whiplash, occipital neuralgia or a herniated disc for example, a regular pillow just won't do the trick.
When you have any type of neck pain, you have to consider a few things such as:
do you have pain on your side or sleeping on your back
do you have shooting pains
do you have muscle pain or tightness
do your have pain in the muscles at the base of the skull
It's really personal preference. Some people just like to sleep on a firm pillow, others like to sleep on a soft pillow. A Hard pillow is not "bad" for the neck, but if it uncomfortable it can cause soreness and muscle spams which equals neck pain. Regardless, some people like a really firm pillow. Here is an example of a really firm pillow:- its called the tri core firm pillow. An example of a softer much more gentler pillow that still has contours in it is called the Arc4life Natural Alignment Neck Pillow.
My recommendation would be to use something that is in between. If a pillow is too soft, then you will not get the proper neck support that you need. Proper support is important because then your spine is aligned correctly and you will have optimal posture while sleeping.
Also at the end of the day, it comes down to- what do you like better: do you like fluffy under your head, or do you like "no give" to your pillow. Everybody's preference is different.
Today I want to Highlight the Bed Wedge Positioning Pillow. I personally used this foam pillow while I was on an extended period of bed rest for my pregnancy. This pillow is also great for post surgical procedures where you have to remain upright, and also for acid reflux. Here are three ways you can use the bed wedge:
Under Your Knees: Use for sleeping on your back
Under Your Upper Back, and Neck Area: Use for reclining
Sleep is a very important function of our everyday life. We are supposed to be spending 1/3 of our lives doing it actually. If you are not sleeping well, then it can become something that causes you stress and it can in fact ruin the day ahead. So what the reasons you are not sleeping well? what the culprits for this? Here are some:
I recently received a phone call from a customer who had just had spinal fusion surgery in her cervical spine. She was asking for a recommendation for a pillow- I recommend the arc4life linear gravity pillow. She also mentioned to me that the surgeon ordered her to only sleep on her back. This was going to be difficult for her. Check out some simple tips on how to Sleep on your back comfortably. Whether for medical reasons, low back pain reasons, or because you don't want to mess up your hair sleeping on your back can be very easy to do.
