What can be done against neck tension?

What you need:

• Grain pillow

This creates neck tension

Neck tension has different causes - physical as well as emotional. They lead to neck pain and may lead to too headache (Tension headache) or even dizziness. You will already have encountered some of the following causes in everyday life if you suffer from neck tension.

• A common cause is a job that involves hours of desk work. Even with a correct sitting posture, tension can hardly be avoided, as hours of sitting in front of the screen is unphysiological and the muscles in the neck and shoulder area tense up due to the one-sided stress tends. However, many people usually sit incorrectly at their desks because, for example, the chair is the wrong height.
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• Anyone who does sport should do it correctly. Cramped running posture or running with weight cuffs on the wrists or weights that are too heavy during strength training can cause neck tension.
• stress is a factor that leads to body tension. Time pressure and deadlines, anger, fears and conflicts in the workplace make the neck stiff and painful. Family conflicts, depressive moods, etc. can trigger neck tension.
• Misalignments cervical vertebrae, intervertebral discs or pelvis, postural damage, scoliosis (lateral spine deviation) and other misalignments can be the cause of neck tension. the Misalignment is not always found where the tension occurs. A pelvic inclination can mess up the body statics and show up as stiff muscles in the neck area.


Neck Pain - What To Do?

The neck muscles are very sensitive and prone to painful tension ...

What you can do against the tension

What you can do about neck tension depends on its cause.

• If you work too long at the desk, make sure you are sitting properly. Sit in a high-quality desk chair. Let the professional advise you before you buy this and try it out. Adjust the chair so that your forearms form a right angle to your upper arm and your shoulders are relaxed and parallel to the desk. Take regular breaks between work, moving your head in all directions, standing up, and walking around at ease.
• If the reason is incorrectly performed physical exercises, see a trainer for you advise and correct - this is especially true if you visit the gym or do competitive sports to drive. Let while running Weight cuffs off and pay attention to a relaxed running style in which the arms go loosely and naturally at the sides.
• If you have stress-related neck tension, try to reduce your stress and, above all, deal with it better. Relaxation methods such as autogenic training or Jacobson's progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) can be learned over several weeks and then applied independently. Autogenic training has a mental, emotional and physical effect and requires a longer learning phase. PMR has a more body-hugging effect and promises faster results in neck pain.
• If your neck pain does not seem to have a clear cause or cannot be relieved under the measures described, there may be a malalignment. If you have "stubborn" tension, see a doctor or a chiropractic or osteopathic naturopath. The doctor can prescribe manual therapy, which you can do with a physiotherapist.

Acute help with neck pain

In acute cases, you can counteract neck pain and tension in the neck muscles as follows:

• Warmth helps relieve tension. Body pillows are ideal. A neck pillow with rapeseed is recommended. These store a lot of heat, give it off for a long time and do not cool below body temperature. Warm that up pillow in the oven or microwave and wrap it around your neck. Allow yourself, your arms and shoulders to rest for half an hour and enjoy the warmth.
• Turn your head gently and carefully to the right and left, bend it forward on your chest and on both shoulders. Never go over the pain threshold. Circle your shoulders, pull them up and let them fall loosely. These exercises help with the onset of tension, not with massive hardening of the muscles. They are therefore recommended for prevention. If you are prone to neck tension, do these exercises once an hour for 15 seconds each.
• You can ask your partner, good friends or family members for a gentle neck massage. Ideally, the person has some practice in massaging.
• Those who prefer to put themselves in professional hands see a masseur. This is not a solution for the same evening, but regular massages can permanently relieve neck tension.

What you can do best for your neck tension depends on what is causing it. Warmth and light stretching exercises help in acute cases. It is important to reduce stress and, if necessary, to get help from a therapist.