How to relax muscles in neck and shoulders in 8 home remedies?!

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To know how to relax muscles in neck and shoulders you should to know what the causes of muscle spasm and tension in the neck and shoulder muscles.

Causes of neck and shoulder tension

There are many causes of tension and stiffness which cause pain in the neck and shoulders, causes some of them are part of our wrong daily habits and some of them due to external factors, here is the most common causes:

• Bad posture during sitting like forward head posture or excessive bending of the neck while using the mobile or laptop.
• Using the mobile for long period with bad position of the neck or shoulders.
• Bad positions during sleeping like sleeping on the stomach or side-lying with poor support and uncomfortable position of the neck.
• Sleeping on a bad pillow or mattress
• Dehydration due to lack of water in the body.
• Sudden movements like sudden twisting.
• Lifting something heavy which makes muscle strain in the neck and related shoulder muscles.
• Direct trauma due to falling, a direct blow, or road traffic accidents.
• Sudden changing of tempreture from hot place to another cold one.
• Stress and anxiety
• Carrying something by both or one shoulders for an extended time even it’s something light like a mobile.
• Sedentary lifestyle.

Diseases and conditions that less common cause muscle tension of neck and shoulders:

• Cervical disc herniation is the herniation of the disc between every 2 vertebrae in the neck which causes pain and sometimes referred pain and numbness to both shoulders and hands.
• Spondylosis of the cervical spine is a type of arthritis in the spine of the neck.
• Spondylolisthesis is the shifting of one vertebra over another in the neck spine.
• Spinal stenosis which is the narrowing of the spinal canal causes compression on the spinal nerves.
• TMJ joint conditions cause referred pain to the neck and shoulders.
• Whiplash injury is the injury of the muscles and ligaments around the spine of the neck due to the bouncing movement of the head like during road traffic accidents.

How to prevent muscle tension in the neck and shoulders?

After you know the most common causes of muscle tension and stiffness in the neck and shoulders, here we’ll talk about how to prevent muscle stiffness in the neck and shoulders before happening.

Here are the most important tips you need to know:

• Avoid faulty postures and keep your neck and shoulders in the upright position with the whole spine either in sitting, standing, or during using the mobile or laptop.
• When you sit for a prolonged time keep moving from time to time and take short breaks every 30 minutes to avoid inactivity and stiffness of your neck and shoulders muscles.
• Avoid prolonged using and holding of mobile because that will cause strain in your shoulders and neck muscles.
• Use a cervical collar if you have a serious problem like disc herniation or spinal stenosis especially during prolonged sitting or driving.
• Avoid uncomfortable sleeping in bad positions of the neck or shoulders.
• Use a good comfortable pillow or sleeping mattress for more relaxation in the neck and shoulders.
• Drink water several times during the day to avoid dehydration.
• Avoid any sudden movements in your neck and shoulders especially during playing sports.
• When you try to lift something heavy ask for help to avoid strain on your neck and shoulder muscles.
• Avoid stress and anxiety
• Play sports and light exercises like walking, swimming regularly.

How to relax muscles in neck and shoulders from tension pain?

There are several home remedies to relieve pain and relax muscles of neck and shoulders, which are:

• Rest

  Rest is very important to relax your muscles, and we mean here the rest by sleep enough time at night at least 7-8 hours, as well as when you do any activity take a rest between part and another of that activity.

• Ice therapy

Ice therapy is a very effective way to relieve pain, swelling and to relax muscles of the neck and shoulders by using a suitable ice compress covered by a thin layer of towel and put it on the painful area with good contact for 10 to 15 minutes.

It’s very effective to use ice therapy in the first  48-72 hours of the injury or strain but it’s okay to use it after that period.

• Heat therapy

Heat therapy is very effective to increase circulation and decrease the stiffness of the neck and shoulder muscles especially when it is done with stretching exercises, but it’s more suitable for chronic cases of muscles and joint stiffness.

You can use a suitable hot compress covered by enough layers of towel to be tolerated heat on the skin, and apply it to the affected area for 15 to 20 minutes.

• Massage

Massage is another effective way to relax muscles, increase circulation and decrease muscle stiffness in the neck, shoulders, and the whole spine.

You can ask someone from your family or a friend to do a gentle massage for your neck and shoulders, but avoid massage in the first 48-72 hours on the affected area especially if there’s redness and swelling in that area.

As you can ask your doctor or physiotherapist before doing that.

Another way to do massage by yourself is by using one of these back and neck massagers.

• Stretching exercises

To gain the maximum relaxation of the neck and shoulder muscles, stretching exercises is a good way when you do it after applying ice/heat therapy and do the massage therapy.

So when you do the ice/heat therapy and massage before doing muscle stretching exercises in that way you prepare your muscles and gain the maximum relaxation which will relieve your pain and muscle stiffness.

• Soft neck collar

The benefit of the soft neck collar is to maintain your neck in the upright position during different activities like prolonged sitting or using mobile or laptop for an extended time, or during driving especially if you have a serious problem like disc herniation or whiplash injury.

Another benefit of the soft neck collar is to decrease any vibrations or compressions on the herniated spinal disc or affected ligaments or muscles during driving or playing sports like walking and jogging.

• Shoulder posture correctors

Shoulder posture correctors (braces) is useful in control and corrects the posture of rounded shoulders and forward bending of the spine (kyphosis) which affect the upright position of the cervical spine and cause muscle spasm in the neck and shoulder muscles.

Usually, these shoulder posture correctors are used during doing daily activities or playing sports to control pain and position during a variety of body movements especially neck and shoulders, but sometimes it causes muscle weakness if being used for a very long time, so you need to consult your doctor or physiotherapist.

• Medications

Analgesic medications like NSAIDs such as ibuprofen or aspirin are useful to control pain, inflammation, and relax muscles of the neck and shoulders, but they don’t treat the underlying problem.

Before taking any type of medication like NSAIDs you have to read the leaflet or consult your doctor or a pharmacist.

When you have to visit the doctor?

Some cases of neck and shoulders pain make it very important to see your doctor such as:

• Constant pain doesn’t respond to medications or other home remedies, especially if that pain extended to several days.
• Referred pain from the neck or shoulders down to the elbow or hand.
• Numbness or tingling of any part of your upper limbs
• Progressive muscle weakness of the upper limbs.
• Uncontrolled fever or chills.
• Sleep disturbances due to pain and stiffness.

   References:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neck_pain
• https://tinyurl.com/ybnoz7hg
• https://tinyurl.com/y8g783hp
• https://tinyurl.com/y9khu9vw
• https://tinyurl.com/y9l5fmue
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25659245/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19445809/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25467545/