Neck pain: Three ways to ease it
Seven in 10 people will have neck pain at some time in their lives. But there are ways you can relieve it.
Middle age is the peak time for experiencing neck pain. Here are the best ways to ease it.
How to relieve neck pain
1. Massage the back of your neck
According to Nice (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence), up to 70 per cent of us will experience neck pain at some time in our lives, with prevalence peaking during middle age. Poor posture – while looking at your phone or laptop, for example – and anxiety are often underlying causes of neck tension and gentle daily stretches can help. “Make sure you perform any neck stretches slowly and smoothly,” says the osteopath James Davies, author of Body. “If they cause pain or make the muscle tension worse, you need to stop immediately and seek medical advice.” Davies suggests using a tennis ball to massage your neck muscles. Place the ball between the back of your neck and the wall. “Position the ball so that it is pressing against the muscles,” Davies says. “Use your neck to roll the ball gently over these muscles.”
2. Stretch your back and legs to release neck tension
Roger Frampton, movement coach and author of Stretch, says that neck and back tension are often a result of referred pain. “Some neck stretches are useful, but won’t necessarily ‘fix’ neck pain when performed in isolation,” he says. “Only by stretching the full body regularly, including the neck, back and legs, will you start to see a reduction in neck tension.”
One of the daily neck stretches he does recommend as part of this approach is to sit tall and upright in a chair while moving your right ear towards your right shoulder. “You can try this with your mouth closed and again with your mouth open, which helps to relieve tension in the jaw muscles. Keep your shoulder blades pulled down as you stretch and then repeat on the other side.”
3. Do the double chin move at your desk
If you suspect being desk-bound is primarily to blame for neck tension, then the posture coach and Pilates expert Jo Tuffrey suggests performing what she calls the “double chin manoeuvre” a few times a day. “Sit up straight at your desk and pull your shoulders down and back,” Tuffrey says. “Then pull your chin back but not down towards the chest to give yourself a double chin.” Hold for 3-5 seconds and repeat 20-30 times during the day. “This exercise targets the hard-to-reach base of your skull,” she says. “It’s great for relieving neck tension and correcting posture.”
The Times
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