This article is one of a series covering back pain — causes, symptoms, and the treatments we use at Back and Body Medical in Midtown Manhattan. For the complete overview, see the full guide:
The human head weighs between 12 and 15lbs, so as you can imagine it puts quite a bit of pressure on the neck and upper back. It is the cause of much pain, especially when people look at their phones as the tendency is to look down. This adds more to the weight of the head and increases muscle work, as much as an additional 10lbs per inch the head is forward. Ultimately, it can cause pain. So we have some New York neck pain management strategies to help you with this.
Fortunately, there’s a few things you can do to help and prevent further pain. Here’s a few of them:
Posture
This first technique will take a few months to help train yourself to create the right head posture. Tuck your head down and create a double chin. Talk while doing this and hold the position for ten seconds. Slowly release (still talk) and as soon as your voice sounds clearer, try and keep this position throughout the day.
Sleep
Because your neck is generally narrower than your head, many people find that their pillow is not right. The pillow should support your neck rather than your head, so try and ensure that your pillow is thicker at the edge and your neck will be better supported.
Exercise
The next New York neck pain management strategy deals with activity and exercise. If you already exercise and do sport, you may need to change the way you do things including length of time. Do not go into it full throttle, but slowly build up the activity over time and allow your body to keep up. If you’re finding that you have hurt yourself and it takes more than a couple of days to heal, you’ve overdone it.
Chiropractic Care
Regular chiropractic treatment is vital to maintaining a good healthy neck through spinal manipulation to help decompress joints and keep things working properly. Many of our New York neck pain management strategies include educating you to the right exercises, stretches and also providing proper therapies to help your situation and condition. Self management is ultimately the key component in having a healthy neck, but we can help and guide you as well.
If you are in pain, contact us now. We have three simple ways you can make an appointment at our Back and Body NY chiro office:
Call now on (212)371 2000 or text (315)873-3095 or email us at Yo**********@***********NY.com
Ready to get out of pain? Most new patients are seen within 24 hours — walk in or book online.
Dr Shan Sivendra MD is the founder and medical director of Back and Body Medical in Midtown Manhattan. A board-certified medical doctor, certified acupuncturist, and Director of House Physicians at St. Barnabas Medical Center, Dr Sivendra has been practicing in New York since 1995.
He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Saint Barnabas Medical Center (affiliated with Mount Sinai School of Medicine) and received the Resident Research Award for three consecutive years.
Dr Sivendra has a background spanning internal medicine, pain management, and conservative spine rehabilitation, and was licensed in both the US and the UK.
At Back and Body Medical, he leads a multidisciplinary team of chiropractors, physical therapists, and acupuncturists dedicated to helping patients recover from pain without surgery or unnecessary medication.
Further Reading: Back Pain