Have you been lately experiencing stiffness in your neck? Do you wake up in pain after sleeping? Does the pain last for only a couple of minutes before going away? Or is it too severe that you have started relying on painkillers?

Neck pain is a common type of arthritis in which a person experiences mild to severe pain in the neck muscles. Around 15% of the population suffers from chronic neck pain that affects their overall quality of life.  An individual may find it difficult to carry out day-to-day tasks such as picking up things from ground level, experience soreness, numbness or tingling pain in one side of the neck or in the whole region. Most physicians blame improper habits that lead to the irritation of the spinal cord, causing neck pain.

However, there are many ways one can avoid this form of pain. These include:

1.    Getting a New Pillow

Many times, it isn’t an injury or a bad posture that causes strain in the neck. It may be due to the pillow one sleeps on every night. The ideal pillow should support and maintain your natural cervical spine posture. If it doesn’t, it is going to stress out the neck with too much force or inappropriate bending. Therefore, try sleeping on a different pillow for some nights.

2.    Keeping Your Work PC at Eye Level

Not having your computer at eyelevel is one of the most overlooked causes of neck pain. The screen of the monitor or laptop needs to be adjusted to your eyelevel so that you don’t have to look up or down at it. If you do, you are going to wearing out your muscles with additional work.

3.    Equalizing Weight on Both Sides of the Body

If you carry too much load in your purse or briefcase every day, your shoulders are likely to become uneven due to the load. Overtime, this is going to strain the muscles in your neck and lead to neck pain. Therefore, avoid carrying the load on one shoulder alone and try to balance it out carrying something in your other hand so you don’t have to really bend on one side.

4.    Avoiding Texting or Watching Videos on Phone for a Long Time

Staring down at your phone’s screen for too long can cause neck strain. Overtime, this occasional stress on the neck leads to premature degenerative alternations in the discs, joints and ligaments of your neck.

If not treated on time, neck pain can cause permanent alternations in the joint which can result in immobility or disability. If recurrent neck pains are affecting your life, it might be time to consult your physician about it. Dr. Parikh at irvingprimarycare.com is a certified physician with years of experience treating different forms of pain and heath conditions in patients. Call 469-262-5762, or visit www.healthonemedicine.comfor more information.