- Sleeping position:
* Sleeping in the wrong position (sleeping on your stomach, lying on one side of your neck...) is one of the common causes.
* Sleeping position causes blood vessels in the neck to be compressed, reducing the oxygen supply to muscle cells, forming a lot of lactic acid release, causing muscle fatigue in the neck area.
- Sleeping pillow: using pillows that are too high, too low, or not using a pillow will cause the neck to tilt forward and backward too much, creating great tension on the cervical spine ligaments, causing neck pain.
- The habit of using air conditioners and fans continuously affects the neck area.
Diagnose
It is important to distinguish it from other causes of neck pain such as:
- Cervical spondylosis:
* Common disease in middle age (over 50 years old).
* The cervical spine consists of 7 cervical vertebrae from C1 to C7, but vertebrae C5, C6, C7 are the vertebrae most susceptible to degeneration.
* Degeneration causes bone erosion, morning stiffness lasting no more than 30 minutes, and possible bone spurs on X-ray images.
- Herniated disc: often has a sudden onset, compressing the nerves in the neck and causing severe pain, which can spread from the shoulder to the forearm, the pain increases when coughing, sneezing...
Treatment
- In addition to overcoming the above causes, neck pain treatment also involves alleviating the symptoms:
* Give your neck a rest after overwork.
* Warm compress on the neck area.
* Wearing a shoulder belt helps maintain correct spinal posture.
* Physical therapy and neck muscle support exercises, using electrical pulse machines, ultrasound machines... to apply physical waves to the neck muscles to help them relax and reduce pain.
* Use medication: anti-inflammatory pain relievers, muscle relaxants, osteoporosis support drugs, but note that they must be used under the guidance of a doctor.
- Traditional medicine:
* Acupuncture: Use various forms of acupuncture (electroacupuncture, acupuncture, thread implantation...) or laser acupuncture for patients who are afraid of needles on the acupuncture points in the neck, ear area, and tonic and detoxifying points appropriately depending on the disease to help blood circulation and relieve pain. Especially combine with moxa or infrared light to relax the neck muscles.
* Health care, massage: Use massage techniques such as rubbing, separating, combining, rubbing, releasing, playing... in the neck area, pressing acupoints at the spot to help blood circulation, increase circulation in the neck area to help reduce pain symptoms. In addition, it can also be combined with health care exercises to strengthen the neck muscles.
* Traditional medicine: Combining non-drug methods, depending on the disease, the doctor will advise on the appropriate prescription and herbs. Commonly used prescriptions with good treatment results include: Quyen Ty thang, Tu Vuc Dao Hong... In addition, combining with herbal compresses on the neck area helps to significantly improve the condition.
Prevent
- Do not lie on your stomach or on one side when sleeping.
- Choose the right pillow: Do not choose one that is too thick or too thin, the pillow should be about 8-15 cm high. Choose a foam pillow or a suitable cushion to help the neck muscles relax and not be affected when changing sleeping positions.
- Do not sit in one position for too long, should move around lightly to change positions.
- Do not let cold air blow directly on the neck area.
- Increase exercise and physical activity to help increase the elasticity of the neck area.
- Timely detection of diseases for appropriate advice and treatment.
Source link
Comment (0)