The Best Ways to Treat Neck Pain from Sleeping
You wake up one morning to find your neck is aching. Your neck may be stiff, or you may feel pain when you turn your head. You can’t concentrate at work because you are uncomfortable, and there is no way that you can get through the day without some relief. It could be caused by sleeping wrong or something else – but how do you know what to do? What steps should you take to alleviate this annoying pain?
The best way to treat neck pain from sleeping is to prevent it by taking precautions beforehand, having healthy sleep habits in place, and knowing how to treat it if it does happen anyway.
There is debate around whether it’s best to sleep on your stomach or not. Many experts argue that since it feels natural to sleep on your stomach, then it must be okay. Plus, there is evidence that stomach sleeping can reduce sleep apnea and snoring. However, it is generally accepted that side-sleeping is best for your neck, as it keeps your neck in proper alignment with your spine.
Your neck serves as a pivot point in your upper body, so it's no surprise that it frequently becomes tense and sore when you're sleeping on an uncomfortable mattress or pillow.
If you’ve ever experienced neck pain, you know how uncomfortable it can be. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to prevent or treat neck pain caused by a poor sleeping position. Slight changes in the way you sleep can go a long way toward preventing chronic problems like neck pain and stiffness. For example, you may want to use a slightly bigger or smaller pillow, depending on whether or not your neck can stay parallel to your mattress. Any deviation from parallel can cause undue tension in your neck when sleeping.
But the most important thing you can do is to get into the habit of doing the right exercises for your posture. This will help ensure that you sleep with your muscles already providing plenty of support, and this is key. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how well you position yourself at night or what type of mattress or pillow you have - if your posture muscles can’t support you, you may acquire too much neck tension.
Seeing one of our acupuncturists and/or massage therapists for your neck pain can greatly help reduce tension and pain. And seeing one of our chiropractors, physiotherapists or osteopaths can go a long way to also learning the right exercises to keep your posture healthy, and keep that neck tension down to a minimum.
If you’d like some more information on how we can help with your neck pain from sleeping, would like to book a free consultation, or would like to go ahead and schedule an appointment at Yellow Gazebo, please give us a call at 416-909-2334, email us at info@yellowgazeboclinic.com, or use the online booking link below. We’ll be happy to help you get on your way to optimum health.
